Well, my marines roughly follow British organisation, if you know about that, but I add stuff like officers tagging along with an individual section (6 privates, a corporal and lance-corporal, (with exception of specialists who may have different ranks) consists of two 4 man fire teams). My platoons are made up of three sections, and each platoon has a lieutenant and a sergeant. Then, a major or a captain is in charge of the group of however many platoons (a company-worth, so two or three at least) are onboard the ship. In the case of a smaller ship having marines, I'd say have just one platoon, if that.

Meanwhile, I've been, making the naval ranks up as I go along. Thenos is a Captain (not sure what Advent title that would be) and that the High Psintegrat of the Flames of Vengeance fleet is the top officer for that faction's fleet. Pretty much the fleet admiral, so the High Psintegrat title is more of a social status than a military rank.

Thanks, I'll start writing using these ranks more. Can someone be part of the Unity and Military caste? Because in that case, Thenos would probably be a Reaver and a Knight of One. Knight-Reaver Thenos, sounds good.

(No longer necessary view edit for original post)

Here are the -Ue_ ranks based on what we made for Steel Command. We didnt give each a detailed explanation like Nyczzz did but here they are:

Ranks:
Section Command:

Carbon= High Paragon
Xenon= Intel Paragon
Gold=Logistical Paragon
Mercury= Fleet Paragon
--------------------
Divison Command:

Superior Halogen
Greater Halogen
Halogen
Superior Metalloid
Greater Metalloid
Metalloid
-------------------
Strike Wing Command:

Superior Transition
Greater Transition
Transition
Superior Alkaline
Greater Alkaline
--------------------
Task Force Command:

Alkaline
Superior Alkali
Greater Alkali
Alkali
--------------------
Planetary Defence:

Regular
Consript
Milita

As for TEC ranks only the Paragons would have any rank within the TEC. Since the -Ue_ hasnt been to affiliated with the TEC. We are a part of the Trade Order but the company as a whole as stay away from most of the politics of the Trade Order and the TEC. So, Xenon and me dont really care how you do the TEC rank stuff. Since we are not to concerned with TEC politcs.

(NO LONGER NEEDED, SEE EDIT FOR OP)

(No longer necessary view edit for original post)

(DS RP) Note: Changed above ranks to eliminate unused and enlisted (seeing that academic training is required for naval service, based upon my trend of cap use only.

Fleets before post:

Blue Fleet --

5 Kols

DLS David - Fleet Admiral Alexander Draakjacht

Tactical Officer - Lieutenant Commander Frishman

Communications Officer - Lieutenant Gross

Bridge Officer - Lieutenant Sokolow

Senior Helmsman - Ensign Karlin

Senior Engineer - Lieutenant Batson

DLS Elijah - Captain Ermler

DLS Abraham - Senior Captain Borovsky

DLS Isaac - Captain Neuhaus

DLS Job - Captain Halevi

3 Dunovs

DLS Jacob - Captain Feldman

DLS Judah - Captain Oliver

DLS Solomon - Captain Perlman

2 Sovas

DLS Moses - Captain Cohen

DLS Noah - Captain Dershowitz

1 Akkan

DLS Rebecca - Senior Captain Levin

Second Officer - Commander Maxwell

1 Marza

DLS Samson - Captain Adler

Green Fleet --

4 Kols

DLS Aaron - Senior Captain Siegel

DLS Cyrus - Captain Strauss

DLS Samuel - Captain Sandler

DLS Josiah - Captain Flohr

5 Dunovs

DLS Elisha - Captain Bar-Lev

DLS Bathsheba - Captain Liebermann

DLS Jonah - Captain Kisling

DLS Joseph - Captain Jacobi

DLS Joshua - Captain Hyman

1 Akkan

DLS Hagar - Captain Zuckermann

2 Marzas

DLS Isaiah - Captain Eliad

DLS Ishmael - Captain Berkowitz

Red Fleet --

5 Kols

DLS Adam - Senior Captain Aronoff

DLS Abel - Captain Palatnik

DLS Daniel - Captain Ornstein

DLS Esau - Captain Mandel

DLS Jeremiah - Captain Leibowitz

2 Sovas

DLS Esther - Captain Heine

DLS Sarah - Captain Greenberg

1 Akkan

DLS Eve- Commander Finkelstein

Carbon Division:
450 Hoskikos
250 Light Frigates
200 LRF
50 Ceilos
50 Carriers
75 Scouts
200 HC
350 Flak

Caps are: 5 Akkans, 8 Dunvos, 2 Sovas

Vasari Fleet:

2 Skirantra Carriers

3 Antorak Marauders

5 Vulkoras Desolators

8 Kortul Devastators

50 Lasurak Transporters

100 Skarovas Enforcers

100 Stilakus Subverters

100 Junsurak Sentinels

50 Serevun Overseers

----

Splashes of light accompany Red Fleet's entrance to the gravity well of the Portage star. Crewman scatter about as scans are made in preparation for combat. The sooner they can clean the area of hostile targets, the more likely they are to maintain the element of surprise for the operation. On board the DLS Adam, a lieutenant turns from her station to announce, "Captain, we have two vessels in the gravity well, Vasari trade vessels."

Captain Aronoff sits tall in his chair, ordering with the usual boom of his voice, "Launch all strikecraft and remove them from my space."

The Esther and Sarah vibrate with movement as Gunships leave the launch bays, each squadron peeling off in a separate direction to form on the wing of a bomber squadron, which originate from the other capital vessels. The ion trails of their engines are pushed by the strong solar currents, forcing them away from the sun despite the circular path the vessels make around the burning orb. A short time passes before the trade vessels are well within visual range of the bombers. It's only assumed that there is a great deal of chaos aboard the vessels as the strikecraft approach, but several officers spread across the TEC vessels monitor for long range communications, only to find the background noise of the sun. The bombers split off into two groups, each chattering away to another to arrange themselves with maximum efficiency. Once formations are set and the trade vessels are at optimal range, the bombers release their payloads, the chemicals burning away and leaving even more for the solar winds to scatter. The missiles converge on their targets, impacting the hulls and pausing for a millionth of a second to allow the warheads to penetrate the weak, civilian armor before exploding, the cyclotaurite combustion releasing a shear wave which transmits itself through the bulkheads and forcing apart each and every weak point of the construction. As the strikecraft catch up to the site of their devastated enemy, the gunships add their firepower for good measure. The rapid release of ammunition both leaves a trail of floating casings and a stream of hot ferrous rounds, riddling both the metal scrap of the vessels and the floating dead with holes. Almost as brief a time as it took to give the order, the deed was done and the star secured.

The lieutenant says, "No communications detected. We're in the clear, captain."

Aronoff replies without a smile nor nod, "Well done. Form the fleet in preparation for the jump and hold position. Let the admiral know we are ready."

On the edge of Portage IV's gravity well resides Blue and Green Fleet with the assimilated components of Red Fleet. Immediately behind them Halogen Braken waits with the Carbon Division. The capital vessels, being supportive in nature, are spread out to provide even assistance to one another. The multitude of frigates and cruisers are separated in layers with the Kodiaks taking point while the Cobalts and Gardas are a single step behind. Cielos, Hoshikos, and Arcovas form the next wall, ready to provide support, targeting and detection where need be. Last, but far from least, are the Javelis and Percheron, ready to provide firepower from behind the screen of other vessels.

Front and center of it all sits the David, Admiral Alexander sitting in wait for the coming conflict. Lieutenant Gross breaks the anticipation, "Sir, we have confirmation from the Adam. The operation is a 'go'."

Alexander nods before opening a communications link with Captain Levin, Captain Siegel and Halogen Braken, "Men, we are ready to move forward. Levin, I'm going to have you micro Blue Fleet on point and high flank while I feed larger objectives. Siegel, you know where you stand on the port flank. Halogen Braken, I need you to keep a steady wall on starboard and low flank. I'll be feeding you a lot of data, so keep on your toes."

"Sir," Halogen Braken interrupts, "I believe my forces are best deployed on point."

"Why is that?"

"With all dure respect, we have more staying power. If we deploy towards the center, we can provide a strong front and have just enough wiggle to stretch help to the other wings of the engagement," Braken argues.

Alexander pauses for a moment, his lips moving as he bites a small part of the inside, "Alright, you take point and high. That puts Blue on starboard and low, but the David will share a space between the two. I want those smaller vessels of yours playing it safe. This fight is for the big dogs, understood?"

Braken nods, "Understood, admiral."

Alexander nods, "Men, see you on the other side," and deactivates the communications link. He straightens himself in his seat and rests his forearms square on the arms. "Helm, take us in."

When the ships have completed their rearrangement, they wait for the last one to align and engage their drives simultaneously. A wall of pouring sparkles light up the edge of the well and, with a great surge of energy, dies. The passage is brief and on the other side, the vessels emerge, announced by a wave of light rippling across space.

Frishman clambers across his station with his fingers, "Sir, they have the usual targeting array established on the planet, so they'll give us a bit of an extra punch."

"As we expected," Alexander replies, "makes you wonder who's stupid enough to leave these things behind."

Frishman shakes his head, "Not the man with a penchant for explosives."

Alexander smiles, "Remind me never to put you in charge of a withdrawal. Enemy status?"

"They have two Skirantra Carriers, three Antorak Marauders, five Vulkoras Desolators, eight Kortul Devastators, fifty Lasurak Transporters, a hundred Skarovas Enforcers, a hundred Stilakus Subverters, a hundred Junsurak Sentinels, and fifty Serevun Overseers. Handful of planetary defenses midway toward the planet and," Frishman pauses for a second while tilting his head at the data, "and no mines, sir."

Alexander asks, "Why wouldn't they have any mines?"

Just as the question is asked, a form emerges from around the edge of the planet, its spidery arms reaching out to the sides and bulbous tail being dragged along by a trickle of green energy.

Frishman replies, "Sir..."

"Yes, I see they were preparing something else," Alexander cuts in. "It'll take some time to arrive. We'll deal with it when it does."

The Vasari vessels have made their maneuvers, now facing the TEC forces holding their positions at the edge of the gravity well. As the group approaches, their numbers converge towards the center of the enemy formation, creating a rudimentary wall. A vast number of fighters and bombers emerge from the formation, taking up formations as they scream towards the targets.

"Keep our strikecraft on the ground, the Gardas can take care of them. Have all units spread themselves out. We have to contain their formation," Alexander instructs. The TEC vessels respond, widening the space between ships to provide a broad berth for the enemy. As the openings form, the Vasari strikecraft engage, firing their dark payloads towards the TEC vessels, which riddle the shields with violet pops of energy. Passing through the formation, the strikecraft run into a wall of hot metal released by the flak frigates, a wall of shrapnel which tears into the small vessels and quickly reduces their numbers by half. The remaining half manage to escape the barrage, but not without their fair share of wounds to lick. The few brazen enough to make a second pass, thinking the rear would provide better circumstances, discover the full coverage of the frigate's turreted weapons remove themselves from the conflict.

Following the debacle of the strikecraft, the Vasari vessels complete their formation, with the Marauders spread out, one taking point and the other two each tipping a flank. The Devastators take to the front, spreading themselves evenly across the wall to provide shielding for the Desolators in the rear of the formation. Trailing behind, the Skirantras reside with the Sentinels and Transporters, the Enforcers and Skirmishers guarding each end of the wall. The Subverters and Overseers shift about between the two greater formations, their anticipation of battle being apparent through the sporadic firing of thrusters. The formations move forward until the targeting array on the planet gives them the advantage, at which point they cut their engines and open up their weapons on the humans.

A rumble billows across the bridge as the shielding negates part of the attack. "Sir, the enemy is engaging beyond range," Frishman reports.

Ensign Karlin replies, "We can be in range within ten seconds."

"We're not stopping there," Alexander says. "If this is going to work, we have to hug them pretty tight. Have the fleets move as close as possible."

"Yes, sir," comes the reply. The formation moves forward, the broad wall taking a steady stream of fire as it approaches until it can return the favor, releasing beams of energy and fiery rounds of ammunition at the Vasari while continuing to approach. Flashes of red dance across the holoprojection as the operation continues, causing Alexander's eyes to dance back and forth to keep pace with the symphony of data.

"Have the Marzas reach optimal range and open up. Tell Braken to focus on that lead Marauder and have all others coordinate central firing patterns," Alexander belts out.

Lieutenant Gross works his station as quickly has his lips and fingers will allow, relaying each order. The Carbon Division, while carefully timing the use of their shield regeneration, turn their ship's broadsides towards the enemy, sliding forward with their inertia and opening up on the lead Marauder with their missiles and laser cannons. The Marzas, Akkans, and Sovas hang near the rear of the formation, firing past the other vessels to contribute to the future demise of the enemy. The three Marzas begin to slow as multiple ports open up across the nose of the vessels, soon giving birth to plumes of light which fan out and scatter themselves across the dark veil. The missiles pass up the mass of capitals, a few waylaid by the expanse of the shielding, and bury themselves within the ranks of the cruisers and frigates, largely affecting the Sentinels, Subverters, Overseers, and Transporters, causing bright pops of brilliance in and of themselves, but followed by greater illuminations marking the death of vessel after vessel. The end of the barrage marks the arrival of the David and surrounding vessels at the front end of the enemy formation. The extended wings of TEC vessels continue forward to wrap around the sides of the Vasari formation while the cruisers and frigates continue to provide clusters of weapons fire from beyond the front.

"Status."

Frishman steadies himself on one corner of his work station while working with his free hand, "Sir, enemy support cruisers are below fifty percent operational. Assault vessels not affected."

"Launch all strikecraft. I want Sentinels down first, then support caps," Alexander orders.

"Yes, sir," immediately proceeds the release of fighters all across the formation. The EWS and conventional bombers make a direct path towards the Sentinels, weaving between the capitals in their way, while the gunships fan out, engaging the remnants of the Vasari fighters and finding easy prey in doing so. As the Sentinels begin to suffer under the wake of bombers, the Skirantras release a cloud of nanites, the glittery devices coating their allies and restoring hull integrity as quickly as possible. Many of the Devastators respond to the recent barrage by firing their own cluster of nanites, but these head towards the TEC vessels, causing no visual change.

"Sir," Frishman calls out, "it looks like we lost railguns."

Lieutenant Gross follows up, "Sir, we have railguns across the fleet reporting malfunctions."

Alexander asks, "Adaptive shields?"

After a moment, Frishman replies, "No, sir, but most Kols are showing the shielding already active."

"Thank God for small favors," Alexander mutters before his attention turns to the holoprojector by the ensign's voice.

"Sir, the Marauder is going down."

The blip on the screen disappears initially, the contra terrene explosion confirmed by a moment of static across the psidar. When the affect of the explosion wears away, the remaining Subverters leap into action, the two formations previously on the wings flying into the capital group, each remaining behind the forward vessels while arcing a path to the other side. During their flight they target the TEC vessels and strike.

"We're getting fluctuations in the shielding," Frishman calls out a moment before the Desolators fire off swarms of phase missiles, the umbral projectiles carving a path through the fray and striking against the human shields, only to penetrate them and impact the hull, the bursts of darkness taking shards of armor with them. The impacts shake the bridge of the ship, sending loose objects crashing to the ground and causing overloads in circuitry. If not for their harnesses, the crew would have been tossed about in spite of the anti-gravity plating's best efforts. Gross hugs his station, yelling over the explosions, "The Judah and Elisha have taken heavy damage."

Alexander wraps his arm around one of the rests to secure himself against the force. "Have them move to the rear of the formation and where the hell are those Akkans?"

"They're each flanking opposite wings," Frishman yells back.

"Get them in the damned fray with those ion bolts and we need the Hoshikos up, now."

On the wings, Akkans break their noses through the walls of the formation, firing their ion bolts at the Desolators and leaving them adrift while Hoshikos careen through the formations, firing pods of repair drones toward the capitals. The atypical designs of the repair cruisers are surprisingly agile in avoiding nearby fire and their silhouettes soon accentuated by the radiant light of two Devastators being torn into debris by near Kols. Amidst the clamor, the formations of Enforcers and Skirmishers break, but rather than fleeing for themselves, they make a path similar to the Subverters, but taking closer to the TEC lines while opening up with all available weapons. The repair operations continue to go in favor of the cruisers until their systems shake and stutter to warn the crews of an unexpected detriment.

"Sir, Hoshikos and Dunovs are reporting anti-matter drains," Gross informs.

Alexander tightens his jaw for a moment, flexing his cheeks before ordering, "Pull the Hoshikos back, have the Dunovs play it conservatively with shielding. Do we know the source of the drain?"

Frishman answers, "We have two groups of Enforcers and Skirmishers cutting into the lines, passing the front soon."

"I want all vessels targeting those ships."

Auto cannons and lasers cross paths, glittering the sky with metal and fire as they create a wall to pockmark the passing Vasari vessels. The Skirmishers are torn away with ease, their crumbling corpses ricocheting off of one another and eventually the shields of nearby capital vessels. The Enforces hold up longer, although many fall away under the onslaught. On the David, Alexander watches intently as the two waves cross, small yellow lights designating weapons fire coming from the vessels. One wave passes, the auto cannons riddling their backsides with round after round. As the next wave makes its pass, the weapons reset, a brief moment of pause occurring before the weapons choose new targets and track in, allowing the Vasari a moment of superiority where dozens, if not hundreds, of rounds could have been released upon the enemy. Alexander's brow narrows as he notices this activity, but a voice soon rings in his ear.

"Sir."

He looks up at Lieutenant Gross, who repeats, "Sir, the Isaac has taken critical damage. Her maneuvering thrusters have lost power."

"Where are the Dunovs?"

Frishman replies, "Anti-matter reserves are low across the board. We're waiting for the stores to recover now that the Skirmishers are out."

Alexander shakes his head, "Alright, have them evacuate the crew and make sure Neuhaus knows I want to see him after the fact. None of that going down with the ship crap. Have the Rebecca move in to cover her in the meantime."

While Gross goes to work, Frishman continues to report, "Sir, some of those Enforcers are trying to bleed between our ranks. We have the enemy bowled in, but that's only going to work for the caps."

"Tell Braken his men get to shine. Have the cruisers pounce on those strays," Alexander says.

The Javelis' and Kodiaks turn their attention to the numbers coming through the line and begin picking them off as they come around the corners of the capital vessels. The Kodiaks break and attack, tying up the Enforcers while missiles twist and dive between obstacles to find their proper places in the bowels of their enemies. The ballet of metal is set to the backdrop of nearly a hundred small pods flowing forth from a Kol which drifts lifelessly with several large gouges taken out of one side. A small explosion deep within the belly signifies the detonation of its drained anti-matter reactor. The line of Sentinels now lie in ruin and the bombers turn to their attention towards the Marauder facing Green Fleet. Between the two, they barrage the vessel until it caves from both sides, the hull drawing inward as supports give way, only to be blown back by the reactor's detonation.

"Second Marauder down," Frishman says. "Sir, the station is here."

The Vasari station approaches the rear of the enemy formation, its weapons lighting up as they prepare to engage."

Alexander sits up in his chair, "Lieutenant Gross, contact Red Fleet and have them begin their jump."

TO BE CONTINUED...

----

Fleets after post:

Blue Fleet --

4 Kols

DLS David - Fleet Admiral Alexander Draakjacht

Tactical Officer - Lieutenant Commander Frishman

Communications Officer - Lieutenant Gross

Bridge Officer - Lieutenant Sokolow

Senior Helmsman - Ensign Karlin

Senior Engineer - Lieutenant Batson

DLS Elijah - Captain Ermler

DLS Abraham - Senior Captain Borovsky

DLS Job - Captain Halevi

3 Dunovs

DLS Jacob - Captain Feldman

DLS Judah - Captain Oliver

DLS Solomon - Captain Perlman

2 Sovas

DLS Moses - Captain Cohen

DLS Noah - Captain Dershowitz

1 Akkan

DLS Rebecca - Senior Captain Levin

Second Officer - Commander Maxwell

1 Marza

DLS Samson - Captain Adler

Green Fleet --

4 Kols

DLS Aaron - Senior Captain Siegel

DLS Cyrus - Captain Strauss

DLS Samuel - Captain Sandler

DLS Josiah - Captain Flohr

5 Dunovs

DLS Elisha - Captain Bar-Lev

DLS Bathsheba - Captain Liebermann

DLS Jonah - Captain Kisling

DLS Joseph - Captain Jacobi

DLS Joshua - Captain Hyman

1 Akkan

DLS Hagar - Captain Zuckermann

2 Marzas

DLS Isaiah - Captain Eliad

DLS Ishmael - Captain Berkowitz

Red Fleet --

5 Kols

DLS Adam - Senior Captain Aronoff

DLS Abel - Captain Palatnik

DLS Daniel - Captain Ornstein

DLS Esau - Captain Mandel

DLS Jeremiah - Captain Leibowitz

2 Sovas

DLS Esther - Captain Heine

DLS Sarah - Captain Greenberg

1 Akkan

DLS Eve- Commander Finkelstein

Carbon Division:
437 Hoskikos
250 Light Frigates
200 LRF
50 Ceilos
50 Carriers
75 Scouts
198 HC
350 Flak

Caps are: 5 Akkans, 8 Dunvos, 2 Sovas

Vasari Fleet:

2 Skirantra Carriers

1 Antorak Marauders

5 Vulkoras Desolators

6 Kortul Devastators

27 Lasurak Transporters

12 Skarovas Enforcers

36 Stilakus Subverters

22 Serevun Overseers

***

***

    The Voruntak Envoy cruiser entered Finley Star's gravwell. Immediately the four Argonev Starbases owned by the Roesh Free Traders locked weapons onto the vessel. A comm broadcast followed closely behind it.
    "This is Command Argonev Starbase calling Vasari Cruiser," a communications officer said, "Please state the purpose of your visit."
    "We are carrying Lord J'rah to see Lord Roesh about developing trade and treaties," a Vasari communications officer responded.
    "Hold please as we send your message through," the communications officer stated. Minutes passed as phase radio instructions were passed back and forth. The communications officer reopened the channel.
    "Roesh is currently not available but his second in command Henry Stolvey is available and has the authority to establish trade and treaties if that is okay," he said. A few moments passed before the Vasari officer responded back.
    "That will be okay," he said, "please give instructions to proceed." Data began processing between the two and after all required information was passed the Envoy proceeded to Finley 1.
    The terran planet Finley 1 was also well protected with a starbase nearby and several orbital defense structures in closer to orbit. They all kept a lock on the cruiser will it flew near the system. A comm broadcast was sent to the cruiser from the planet.
    "My lord," the Vasari comm officer said, "Lord Henry wishes to speak directly with you over the channel."
    "Put him through then," Lord J'rah said. Henry's face appeared on the viewscreen.
    "Welcome Lord J'rah," he said, "What brings you to our neck of the woods?"
    Lord J'rah paused for a second with that figure of speech.
    "Um, yes," he said, "We are in need of materials and understand that you have much to sell. We would be willing to trade some technology that would help increase this for a small um cut of the porfits."
    "Hmmm," Henry said, "Intriguing, some down to the planet. We have facilities for Vasari and it would be nice to meet face to face."
    "Thank you," Lord J'rah responded, "We would much apprieciated it."
    The Vasari Envoy headed towards the planet and landed at the designated landing pad. Attendants arrived to escort the Vasari to the recreational facilities that were set up. Lord J'rah was escorted to Henry's office. Henry's office was simple and business like, which considering his rank said much about him.
    "Ah, come in Lord J'rah," Henry said as he stood up in his seat. "Please sit down." He pointed towards a chair that was designed for a Vasari. Lord J'rah took the seat.
    "So what do you propose?" Henry asked. Lord J'rah pulled out two glass-like tubes, one filled with metallic like substance and the other filled with a crystal like substance. He put them on the table. Henry looked at them puzzled.
    "Have to admit," he said, "When most people give pieces of technology its usually in some print form. What are these?"
    "Nanites," Lord J'rah said simply.
    "Hmmmm," he said, "I know our Hoshikos like to play around with nanobots, but never thought about using them for mining."
    "The Vasari Culture makes much use of nanites," Lord J'rah explained, "we even use them in our own bodies to improve our lives."
    "Never thought of that," Henry said, "So I take it that the metallic substance is for metals and the crystal like substances is for the crystals that are mined."
    "Correct," Lord J'rah said, "They should increase production by twenty to thirty percent. Plus they are self-replicating so that you merely have to put a small dab in each mining facility and you would never run out. All we would ask is a fifty percent cut of that profit."    
    "So we would still see an increase of about ten to fifteen percent," Henry surmised, "Thats not bad actually. Sounds like we have a deal."
    "Glad hear that Mr Stolvey," Lord J'rah said.
    "Please, call me Henry," Henry said.
    "I shall, thank you," Lord J'rah said as he and Henry got up to leave the office, "Oh and one more thing."
    "What's that Lord J'rah?" Henry asked.    
    "If this deal were to every be broken, those nanites will no longer work," Lord J'rah said, "Its a bit of a precaution my people prefer to use to make sure the technology is not used against us."
    Henry frowned for a moment at this little bit of knowledge, then smiled. "Completely understandable Lord J'rah," he said, "Completely understandable. Now lets go toast our deal."

(Personal / DS)

    We're sitting at the Mercevia sun.  Waiting...  Hoping that our employer got enough of our message to come and get us.  Or at least get curious enough to come back looking.  Hopefully before the pirates do.  We're taking up positions as close to the star as we can so we can't be seen as easily, and we have this damned device.  It's not working properly...  It's broken...  Leaking...  It may end up killing us all before anyone finds us.  How did we get here?  How did things get this bad?  If no one is left, at least we'll be survived by this journal.

    It began here in Mercevia when our boss happened across something that wasn't natural...  Or rather, didn't fit the natural order of things.  A system full of radiation.  A system where communications die.  You never feel more alone when you know your friends are out there in the stars, but they don't know if you are.  I arrived here with half of our small fleet aboard the light frigate Albatross.  She was a beauty of a ship.  Fast.  Agile.  A dirty little saboteur.  It's a great little ship to begin one's career on, it's also a great ship to end one's career on.  To be an aging captain like me who was never interested in climbing the ranks but still wanted a ship of my own, it's the perfect fit.  We had a small skirmish and it was an easy victory.  I was ordered with a small group to watch the phase lane we entered the grav well from.  It was our duty to stall any force that came through long enough for the remainder of the fleet to assemble.  It happened.  I like to think we did our job.  At least we did it well enough to get another victory under our belts.  But Lady Luck is a cruel mistress.  She turned on us just as quickly as she decided to help us.  We were confronted by a second assault, equal to the first in ships, but overpowering in the end.  We took far too much damage far too quickly and I ordered my crew to abandon ship.  We all made it...  To the life pods.  Sitting in space we saw ship after ship explode.  With each one we wondered who we wouldn't be seeing tomorrow.  When we saw our capital ships fleeing for their lives, we began to wonder if we would even see tomorrow.  I'm happy at least some of us made it out alive that day, but I, like pretty much everyone else, wish we were lucky enough to be on one of those ships.

    They were gone.  Our friends, our allies, our coworkers.  We were left behind to be plucked out of space by renegades and social deviants.  Pirates.  Our employer, Roesh...  The couple of times I've met him, I've gotten the distinct impression he'd much rather be one himself, but something holds him back.  Like he has a greater purpose he's trying to reach.  I can only speculate, but I know he's driven by something.  My thoughts changed to my own mortality when my life pod was scooped up.  Our hatch was forced open and we were yanked from our chairs at gunpoint.  Taken to holding cells on the ship that collected us, then transferred down planet side to holding cells.  The facility underground was much larger then we had anticipated.  Clearly they had been here a while.  Clearly they don't intend on leaving any time soon.  Every few hours the pirates busied themselves reorganizing and shuffling us around. I assume it was to prevent anyone from forming a group brave enough to try anything, but they were wrong.  They actually enabled the whole thing to happen.  As certain groups of marines passed each other in the shuffle they communicated using indistinct hand signals to pass on messages to each other.  Once a whole company of marines had been contacted a plan for escape was put into place by the largest group intact.  The pirates were stretched thin with the number of prisoners they were keeping watch over, so when it came time to be fed, the group now calling themselves the Blood Ash jumped into action.  Blood Ash...  If memory serves, that was the name of a elite group of soldiers back in Trader Space who were completely dedicated to ridding systems of piracy.  Back in the days before the wars started when all we had to worry about was getting goods from point A to point B, and the only thing standing in the way were people like our current hosts who felt slighted by the way things were run, or just didn't know how to fit into the system or into society.  The Blood Ash would go into systems plagued by piracy, infiltrate the organization and completely destroy it.  Not just the visible side...  The ships and the people taking what wasn't theirs, but the entire chain.  Those who supported the pirates, those who traded with them, those who created the situation in the first place, even those who allowed the problem to fester and get out of control were eliminated.  They made it perfectly clear that if they were there, the system would be cleansed.  Most people saw them as being overly aggressive, however, those who had the natural order of their systems restored to them are still eternally grateful.

    In their closed off room, one waited behind the door.  As soon as it began to open, he smashed the entire weight of his body against it, knocking the guard back into the others nearby.  The marines yanked the door back open and rushed into the hall.  Some were gunned down, but using the dazed and confused pirates and their fallen comrades as shields, they quickly overwhelmed the few guards.  Now being in possession of the keys and some light weaponry, they began unlocking all of the other prison doors.  As they regained control of their immediate environment, squads were sent out to find the hanger bay where they could escape from, the armory where they could arm themselves properly, and the communications room so they could call for help.  They spread out and slowly took control of more tunnels until they hit one of their objectives.  The hanger bay was located, but more marines were needed to secure it, especially with the lack of weapons.  So while most of us sat around in the prison area, the marines with weapons marched all of those without them into the middle of the hanger like a prisoner detail had been assembled.  They split into groups again and those pretending to be guards ordered their 'prisoners' to grab buckets and rags and to begin washing down every ship present.  This allowed them to get close enough to the other crews and the ships to have a chance at succeeding in taking control.  When the teams were in place, they acted swiftly and quietly taking over the outer ships and working their way in.  Once they had complete control, all of us prisoners were relocated to the hanger bay and herded onto the ships.  A squad reported in that they had located the armory and had brought back some of their weapons.  They remained stationed at the access tunnels, while the remaining squads took turns heading to the armory, grabbing more gear and returning to the hanger.

    Now heavily armed and able to leave, all we had to do is send word to get picked up at the star.  Still unable to locate a communications terminal the Blood Ash set out to recover all of the remaining prisoners and hoped to capture someone along the way who could be convinced to give up the comms location.  One block at a time, they released more of our people.  Lady Luck decided to bless us one last time because between trips to cell blocks and escorting former prisoners to the hanger, they happened to locate the comm room on their own.  Knowing it's a priority, they left two squads behind to secure it and try to send word back to Tim that we'd be waiting.  Working diligently, they managed to crack the security codes and send word...  Or maybe we didn't.  Unfortunately, due to all of the interference in the area, we are unsure if the message was received or if there was a reply.  Hell, we don't even know if it was sent...  There's just too much interference...  In an attempt to prevent the pirates on the planet from calling for backup once those we haven't subdued realize we're gone, the comm room was dismantled.  We robbed them of it's power supply, internal computer boards, and as much of the wiring as could be ripped out of it.  But this power supply...  The size of a captain's chair...  It oozes energy.  And the markings on it...  Not one of us recognizes it.  Everyone near it gets nauseous after a few minutes, so we stashed it in the hold of this pillager I'm currently on.  We've wrapped it with as much metal and junk that we could find laying around.  It helps, but not much.  It's probably damaged.  Pirates aren't known for their delicate treatment of fragile equipment...  Once we had collected everyone aboard our new ships, we took to the skies.  We broke orbit as fast as these ships could take us.  We made the jumps to get to the star, and now this is where we sit and wait.  In the star's corona, hoping our message was received, hoping our friends and coworkers are heading here to collect us, but knowing the pirates will know we're gone soon.  Lady Luck needs to head our way one more time.  I'd like to be able to retire...

(Before anyone rushes in to help, no message was sent.)

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