(DS RP) Edited out the rum effect. The rest is public education

Carbon and Xenon walked down the hall. Xenon knew something was wrong, Carbon didn't have a drink in his hand. Which is more surprising given the banquet they just come from after the award ceremony.

They turned to corner the hall that contained their current rooms. Carbon pulled the newly given medal off his neck and handed it back to Xenon.

"Take this." Carbon said without emotion.

He continued to unbutton his uniform top. And proceeded to toss that to Xenon also by the time they reached Carbon's room. The door opened and Xenon set the clothing  down on a cabinet. Carbon went straight for the closet. As the door closed quietly behind them.

"Whats do you know that I don't?" Xenon said.

Carbon walked out, no longer in his uniform, but dressed in rather worn looking street clothing.
"So..." Xenon started.

Carbon held out his hand, as to say wait a moment. Xenon paused as Carbon head back in the closet. Not a moment later he came back out tucking in  something behind his shirt. Xenon presumed it to be a gun.

"What I know is that we are but history." Carbon said out loud. "I know having this award ceremony, while nice, has put us at yet another disadvantage."

Xenon pulled out his holopad. Quickly Typing away, "Based off the subtle yet obvious choice of words I can safely assume we no longer hold any cards And..."

Carbon who had been throwing what stuff he had into bags, reached over and smacked the holopad out of Xenon hands, "Yes, don't attempt contact them again."

Xenon's face showed little emotion, "We are dead men then?"

"I wouldn't say dead. Just public enemy #2." Carbon said.

Xenon nodded, "Guess we are leaving?"

"I am. You...your free to do whatever. I would prefer my friend you stay low. Somehow though I don't feel the need to stress that." Carbon said with a smile. He finished packing the bags, Including throwing his uniform into a bag.

"Very well, Osiris will be needing attending too." Xenon said. "Where you going?"

"I'm...going to see an old...acquaintance." Carbon said trying to hide a laugh.

"Oh, shame I won't be there when she shoots you." Xenon said.

Carbon shrugged, "Aye, go big or go home." Grabbing the bags throwing them over his shoulder. He walks out of the room.
Walking back down the hall, Braken was walking his direction.

"Sir..."Braken spoke up.

"Braken, is good to see you without Advent beams around." Carbon said as the men walked closer together.
"...yeah, At any rate i got my report ready for you." Braken said as he feel beside Carbon as he walked down the hall. Handing Carbon a set of disk.

"Ah, well I'm sad. I'm never gonna read this." Carbon said with a slight sigh. Braken had a puzzled look on his face.
"You will need to send this to Superior Halogen Carbon. Oh, look! There he is..." pointing to Braken, "Congrats on the promotion."

"I...I don't understand, yet again." Braken said.

"Don't over think it. Just report to Paragon Iron ASAP. Oh! and forget you saw me." Carbon said as he stop walking and turned to Braken. Shook his hand and then continued down the hall.

Round the corner leaving a perplexed Braken behind, Carbon head towards the main lobby. "Go big or go home." he said softly to himself.

(DS RP)

"No," Levin says with a flat tone.

"Why not?" Alexander inquires.

"The first problem is logistics," the answer comes.

"If we're all right there, we will receive the same supply, but without the shipping time. We don't make anything off of this planet," Alexander says.

Levin shakes his head, "We make resources. We trade off just about all of them, but we can't just leave the planet unmanned. Besides, it's a staging point. It's simply easier to organize things from the surface."

"The fleet elements need to be refitted," Alexander insists. "Would it be that much harder to simply move our entire operation to Finley?"

"Yes, it would," Levin's eyebrows raise in unison. "We wouldn't have a gravity well to ourselves. We wouldn't have a dedicated construction facility. We wouldn't have our own defensive station. At best, we would have to be brought into the fold to receive a fraction of the benefits we have here. I don't think you want to give up our autonomy, right?"

"No," Alexander turns his head to the side, mulling over the thought with puckered lips. "We need more room. More resources. More of just about everything."

Levin nods, "Okay, that means we need two things: A plan for where we can find this room and communication with home. One is easy enough to do. We can spare the construction of another Envoy. The other means we'll have to invest some sweat, and maybe even blood."

"Alright, get the Envoy underway and I'll start looking at our options. If you can, strike up a good deal with the Free Traders. I want to see if we can get operations in gear sooner than later."

Levin rises from his seat, "I'll do that. Now go shave."

Alexander runs his fingers through the hair on his face. It's grown moderately long and dark, but thicker more than anything else. "Not just yet."

(Personal)

    A Hoshiko bearing the Free Trade insignia and serial markings appears at the Ryes star.  The captain of the ship transmits his authentication codes and is cleared to enter the system.  Passing through the asteroid debris and making a slight adjustment to pass around a large asteroid, they find themselves at the wormhole back to Trader Space and another security checkpoint.  This time the captain is informed his authorization isn't good enough to pass, prompting Todd to send over his credentials.  Within minutes the ship is cleared to proceed.  On the other side, they deal with the same level of scrutiny until they jump from the system headed for another called Kotz.
    "So where to after we arrive?" the captain asks Todd.
    "A small outpost planet called Ruskayah.  The specific settlement is Intahi." Todd replies.
    "What happens when we get there?"
    "Nothing.  You all stay on the ship, I go planet side and hope I find who I'm looking for."


    Casey walks around the debris studying the site as best as she can.  After giving the scene some thought, she walks inside the remains of the craft to see a couple techs pulling the systems apart.
    "Did you review the information first?" she asks.
    "Yes, ma'am." one of the techs replies.
    "The craft apparently the craft lost control after making a near pass to the star.  The logs also show that hatch being forced open twice." the other tech states.
    "When?  While flying by the star or here on the ground?" Casey asks.
    "Don't know, the logs have been tampered with.  No time stamps have been recorded since the jump to the star.  We're taking the system back to see if we can reconstruct the events." the second tech continues.
    "Good, get back to me when you have more information." Casey says as she jumps outside of the craft.  She gazes off in the distance at the woods all around her and figures it's a bit odd that the autopilot managed to pick this spot to crash.  Out of the way, yet the only clearing for miles.  Keeping her thoughts to herself, she makes her way to the treeline to get a better view of the whole site.  Her curiosity continues to grow as she walks back to the SAR ships.


    Henry brings up Tim on the video screen.  "What's our situation out there?" he asks.
    "Not good, Chief.  The civilian research lab is structurally compromised beyond repair.  It'd be easier to just scrap it and build a new one.  The military lab is pretty bad off as well, but it was partially shielded by the other lab so it didn't take much debris.  It'll take time but we'll get her back up and running.  The broadcast center is structurally complete, however the equipment on board is really picky about being blown up..." Tim states.
    "Yeah, I hear the electronics don't like that too much..." Henry jokes.
    "You got it.  We've got the equipment to replace what's damaged, it just means delaying the building of the backup broadcast center for a little while until new equipment can be fabricated."
    "How are our guests handling this?"
    "They're keeping quiet for now.  They're in a defensive ball and Zinc gave me the head's up that they'll destroy any ships that come close without having requested that ship first, so no civilian traffic this way please."
    "I'm not releasing the no fly restrictions until we know more."
    "Speaking of knowing more, what do we have?" Tim asks.
    "We've recovered some debris from a Vasari scout that we hope is responsible for both attacks.  If they're not, then that means we've got a trade partner that's only helping the growing resentment here on the planet."
    "Regardless we have to do something...  No one is going to let go of this until the responsible party is under arrest or dead."
    "True enough.  Todd has left the system to go look for someone who can help us out with identifying the scout.  Maybe knowing who that is will shed some light on what's going on.  I'm about to call up J'rah and get some answers about their role in all of this."
    "Happy hunting." Tim says and cuts the feed.


    Back on the SAR ship Casey pulls up some map data to find the closest settlements.  She hums some dramatic music to herself when she finds out that the closest one is one of the relocation settlements for the original inhabitants.  "The plot thickens." she says exits that craft and begins walking around the site some more until she finds what she's looking for.  A lone boot print in some soft dirt leading away into the woods.  "Where are you going?" she asks softly as she makes her way to the edge of the woods.
    "We're ready to go, ma'am." comes a call on her radio.
    "Go on without me, I'll wait for my people in salvage to get here." Casey replies.
    "Copy that." the voice says as the remaining SAR ships pop up off the ground and head out of the area.
    Casey studies the area where she now stands looking for any clues to tell her where to go next.  Carefully evaluating every inch she soon notices broken sticks on the ground heading in the direction of the settlement.  "So you are going there." she says to herself mostly while heading off in that direction herself.


    Zinc slowly paces back and forth on the bridge of his fleet's flag ship.  It doesn't take long before Tim appears on the holovid.  Zinc walks over and asks, "So what's the plan admiral?"
    "Nothing at the moment.  We're still trying to piece together what's going on."
    "Damn you guys are slow." Zinc says to his own amusement.
    "Really?  Have you guys caught and punished those responsible for bombing your headquarters yet?" Tim asks knowing it'll rub Zinc the wrong way.
    "You don't have the clearance to know what we've done about it." Zinc states with annoyance.
    "Maybe, but that doesn't mean I don't know." Tim says with a grin.
    "All you need to know is that we've got everything under control."
    "I can see that.  Most of the dead board members have been replaced, the top brass in your fleet aren't in charge anymore, and Iron's waiting patiently for each of the UE fleets to announce where their loyalties lie so he can deal with each appropriately.  That about sum things up?" Tim asks.
    "Crafty old man aren't ya?  Still fishing for intel." Zinc says with a laugh.
    "Wouldn't be doing my job if I stopped." Tim says.
    "Any idea on who did this to ya?" Zinc asks.
    "We're chasing down a couple leads right now.  If you get bored waiting around, you can always take off and go back to having fun with your playmates.  We sent them on to Afradas."
    "Maybe we will, maybe we won't.  You'll let me know if anything important happens?"
    "Sure.  I do need to get back to work now."
    "I bet...  Have fun at the early bird dinner special." Zinc says and cuts the comm off so Tim can't be a smart ass back.


    The screen in front of Henry finally light up with the image of a Vasari.
    "Sorry to keep you waiting, Lord Henry.  I was just at an important meeting." J'rah states.
    "You may or may not already know, but we've got ourselves a problem." Henry states.
    "I have been informed of an incident involving one of my ships."
    "Correct."
    "Before I lose the opportunity, I would just like to say that I had no knowledge of what was going to happen, and if I did, I would have done everything in my power to prevent it."
    "That puts me in a very difficult position.  On the one hand, you seem like a decent businessman who wants to get away from all of the fighting, on the other hand, I don't have any evidence right now that says there's even the slightest possibility things aren't what they seem."
    "And they seem like we of the J'Kar clan have deliberately attacked you after gaining your trust."
    Henry leans forward at his desk propping his head up with his hands for a minute deciding on what information to share.  "The frigate was unusually late arriving for it's scheduled pick up, citing navigation computer failure for the reason.  According to the report, Captain Ares was more then apologetic for the delay."
    "Ares you say?" J'rah asks rhetorically as he makes himself a note.
    "Is that something I should be concerned with?"
    "I do not know.  Was there anything unusual about this ship or crew that you can tell me?"
    "Other then it exploding, taking out a trade station of mine?" Henry asks.
    "Other then that, yes."
    "The only abnormal thing noted in the report besides the time discrepancy is that Captain Ares spoke perfect English.  I assume you've been learning my language for years and you don't even speak it perfectly."
    "That is true."
    "I hope you know that I have to suspend our joint mining activities until we figure this out."
    "I expected as such.  If I may be able to request one thing...  There are those here that would like nothing more then for you to attack us for repayment for your losses.  Don't give them the satisfaction."
    "So do you think one of them is responsible for this?"
    "I cannot say for sure, but it's not without reason to expect it."
    "I can't promise anything right now, but no one is going anywhere for a couple days at least."
    "Then I shall take that time to find out more about this Captain Ares and why he would allow this to happen.  Thank you."
    "Don't thank me yet, all of the evidence still points in your direction." Henry says and cuts the link.

DS(Personal)                                                        

"Greetings Grand Primus Vulknor it has been some time."


To Be Continued....

(TS / DS RP)

-=Trader Space=-

    The hoshiko carrying Todd enters the Kotz system and heads for the planet Ruskayah.  Once in high orbit, Todd transfers to another ship to take him planetside to the Intahi settlement.  An hour later he finds himself sitting at a corner table at the town's only tavern.
    "What's it gonna be?" the waitress asks as she approaches the table.
    "Faylene Whiskey on the rocks with a splash of lime and a lemon on the side...  And some information." he replies.
    "Whiskey's 2 Betras, information's gonna cost you a lot more, hun."
    "200 Betras to know if you've seen a man that goes by the name Glenn Roy." Todd says as he puts a card on the table.
    "Can't say that I have, but I did have a customer some time ago order that same drink, said he was just passin through." the waitress says as she picks up the card.
    "Alright then.  I guess I'll have my drink and just be passin through as well."
    The waitress nods and a couple minutes later returns with Todd's order and a receipt.  He signs it tosses back the drink and is handed his card back.  He immediately stands up and heads back to the transport pickup location and waits to be taken back to his ship.  A few hours later, he's back aboard the hoshiko.
    "Find him?" the captain asks.
    "Nope." Todd replies. "He was here and gone."  Looking at the star chart he focuses in on another system.  "Guess we try here.  Dalna system.  Once there, head to Laudon."
    The hoshiko breaks orbit and heads for their next destination.


-=Distant Stars=-

    Casey slowly makes her way through the forest until she comes to a ridge that overlooks the relocation town.  "Never easy." she mutters to herself as she starts to climb down the 30 foot wall.  Several minutes later she finds herself at the bottom.  A little dirtier then she likes to be she makes her way down one of the dirt roads.  Prefabricated buildings line up down both sides and basic signs let the passer-by know what business it is.  She finds a general store and goes inside to buy a couple of things.  She walks up and down the isles not looking for anything in particular and catches the eye of the clerk.
    "Can I help you find something, miss?  Uh...  Sorry I know pretty much everybody here and I don't think we've ever met."
    "Ramiel.  Kimberly Ramiel.  My husband and I came here a few weeks ago because of the work being offered and..." she cuts herself off and buries her head into her hands.  Forcing herself to cry she continues, "My husband was on the tradeport that was attacked...  And now he's gone..."
    The clerk rushes over to her and embraces her to calm her down. "I'm terribly sorry for your loss..."
    Casey imagines herself smirking just then knowing how easy it is to manipulate people's emotions. "Those bastards in charge..." she continues the ruse of being upset, "They just keep saying they're looking into it, but I know they're not doing anything..."
    "What makes you say that?" he asks.
    "I saw some messages saying it was a Vasari ship that attacked us, and another message ordering all ships to not leave the system." Casey wipes the tears from her face. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be bothering you with this."
    "It's no problem Miss Ramiel." the clerk says as he let's go of her.
    "I just wish there was somewhere I could go...  Someone to talk to, to get answers..."
    "Folks around here don't care too much for the current group running the show.  Come back after sundown.  Maybe I can introduce you to some people that can help you out."
    Casey nods her head yes a few times and walks out of the store.  She makes her way to the edge of the town and finds a place to sit down and rest.  "Damn...  It's going to be a few hours before sundown here.  This is gonna suck." she thinks to herself.


    Henry reviews the list of ships sent over by Captain Levin and calculates the numbers in his head before turning to his computer and putting in a rush order to build several new repair bays near the current ones to handle the David's Lions fleet upgrade request.  He then flips through some of the research data entered into the system.  He brings up multiple research groups on the video screens in his office.
    "I want to know where we're at on some of these things, I've just been reviewing the notes and some of them are less then encouraging.  Would someone care to explain to me how an energy regulator could be overlooked on a beam array?  I'm not too pleased with having to pay for major repairs to a Kol that could have been easily prevented..."
    "Um, early tests showed that current specs would be up to the task." one of the research techs replies.
    "Current specs?" Henry states with a bit of shock.  "I suppose so, but let's assume these are older ships with older build protocols in place and well used equipment that may have been damaged once or twice before in one of a dozen battles or so...  Come on, you're all supposed to be intelligent people, when did retrofit start meaning ships fresh from the factory!?!  Don't assume any component tied to these upgrades is up to current standards, hell don't even assume they're up to any standard as I'm sure most have been jury rigged over the years to just function with what's there without exploding!"
    Several heads nod. "It was an oversight that won't happen again." someone else states.
    "It damn well better not!" Henry barks back. "Now I want complete notes and specs on all working prototypes and make them available to all factories and repair stations.  The David's Lions are going to be arriving in the very near future to get a fleetwide upgrade of everything we've got and I don't want to be replacing entire ships because some idiot just assumed what's there was good enough.  If you upgrade a propellant canister, upgrade the damned barrel of the gun as well so it doesn't blow up inside the ship!  If you upgrade a laser bank, upgrade the heat exchangers as well so we don't have a meltdown that destroys the focusing crystals making field repairs impossible.  If you change the chemicals used in the missile's rocket motors, upgrade the damned backstop so it doesn't melt the loading doors of the tubes away venting the missile bay into space!  Do I make myself clear?"
    "Yes sir." comes the reply from almost everybody.
    "Use your damned heads!" Henry yells as he cuts the feed to all of the monitors.  He reclines back in his chair and presses a button on his desk.  A few seconds later a young lady appears in the doorway.  "Could you track down what our best tea is and have enough for a few pots brought over.  In a couple of days I expect to have a very important guest visiting again."
    "Of course." she says with a smile.
    "Oh and let Molly know to be expecting an influx of guests who may need shore leave accommodations."
    "Okay.  Anything else?"
    "No, thank you."
    She smiles and walks away from the doorway leaving Henry to be alone with his thoughts.

(DS Roleplay / Trader Space - Petrograd, Ashanti Rim World, 12 Systems out from Galan)

 

Part Twenty Two of Teir -

 

-Teal

 

 

 

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9LWQWOWEaA&feature=related

 

 

 

 

Sere-

 

Plans –

Petrograd, Ashanti Rim World
November 2nd, 2287 (11.2.2287.1)


At first light she woke and dressed in the thin gray longdress and tunic of her government issue clothes. Pulling the hood of her cloak up and lowering her head as she went from the thin walled gray timbered building with other homeless people, into the bright light of the long sand strewn streets, giving subtle glances at the shop fronts and lettering of the black painted doorways of the buildings that lined the narrow thoroughfair of Petrograd, an industrial dirty and indigent city of poor and the poorer, the Port city of the Ashanti trade world.

Here along the slender, soot yellowed and black bulked squarish shapes of the middle aged buildings she could readily see Script written in the Tec tongue, and a dozen variant other's, with painted over scrawls of mist-paint graffiti of the rebel tribes that shunned open and free trade with any of the Commerce worlds that lay further in-core, toward the dominant Tech systems and their attendant rules.

She had seen Advent script, but had not thought about it, two weeks before when she had landed, but now she searched diligently.

But what were the chances of finding a cast-out here? Much less a skilled medical trained in illegal Advent arts?

And the cost?

She pushed forward through the streets looking right and left, her hands hidden under her cloak and almost ran into a Mercantiler who glared at her, and for a moment straight into her eyes.

White eyes!

She turned her face away quickly and apologized, bowing her head even further, afraid. But the man simply cursed her and moved on with little more in his expression than the momentary flare of anger at an errant who had the misplaced attention to step in his way.

She held her breath for ten steps before she exhaled and sighed, momentarily stopping, turning and glancing back. The man in the fine brown spun woolen suit and cape continued on unabashed, leading his stride with a walking stick of polished red stained wood, adjusting his black smokestack hat over his long braided hair and thick eyebrows as he strode on. His nose still in the air and pushing forward with keen hard eyes darting, as if daring anyone else to disturb him.

Did he know she was Advent by her eyes?

It would be impossible not to know.

But yet, he had not reacted as if she were a criminal, or an out placed white eyed foreigner to be stoned on the spot.
She exhaled deeply again and turned back to her search, moving closer to the edge of the walkway that edged the dirt, and in places, muddied narrow street.

She searched for over two hours, working her way back toward the landing field of the Main Port where the transport had docked and now stood lined with long catwalks of scaffolding twined about the ships squarish lines. Until she found it.

A small shop with Advent script in small white letters against the glass of a White doored building. One of only a handful of such buildings to have a white door at all in this area.

How was it possible the Advent could live here at all?

But the rim worlds were largely tolerant, at least closer to Galan, but then she was now nowhere near to that dead system. Tolerance could only extend so far from that place where the Advent had exiled themselves from the Tech.

In the corner of the glass below the Proprietors name lay the image of two snakes coiling about a single staff. She gave a start at the coincidence of it and crossed slowly to the doorway, head still down as far as she could manage without blinding her view to the street and a dozen more miss stepped encounters with strangers.

An Advent sure to tell by the white script and doorway, and a medical!

It was as if fate had guided her steps to her purpose.

Or her purpose was the sum of her circumstances that simply were... what they were.

In any event she was here, and the opportunity was close.

But a cast-out? With illegal Advent abilities? Could fate extend that far?

On the corners in both directions stood a group of youths in red bannered white shirts, the tied ends of the red scarves twined about their forearms to display them prominently. A hazardous sight to any civilized street further inland, but welcome here.

It would mean less legal vigilance and a greater possibility of finding what she needed. She slowly mounted the three white-gray chalked steps to the weathered and chip painted white door and placed her palm against the worn and grained surface that glowed dimly at her touch. After a moment the door slid back into the door frame giving light into a yellow stained walled room.

A dozen other women and two old men dressed in gray as she was sat with their hoods pulled up and heads lowered.
Even here, among the relative safety of the room inside the building itself, it was not completely safe to remove the hood and sit with your eyes level for anyone to see.

It was never wise to tempt fate on any of the rebel worlds with so many Tech, even expatriated Tech walking the streets.
Not even here, in this seemingly immigrant neighborhood of once Advent.

They were despised and regarded as witches. Openly hated and stoned on any of the core worlds, though barely tolerated here in the outer systems. But at least here they were merely cursed and relegated to the slums and labor intensive areas, instead of nailed to posts on the corners of streets as warning.

She crossed the dark brown floored room and took a small seat at the end of the fourth line of small chairs that filled the room. Heads turned, hoods well forward, then turned back slow. She never saw anyone's eyes directly. It was an art she had learned as well in the months since she had fled Galan.

The door opened then and a gray garbed woman with dark hair stood in the doorway.

"Sere?" she asked.

Sere started, she had barely sat down, but she rose slowly and nodded as she crossed to the doorway and the waiting attendant. The others hoods turned as she crossed the stained tiled floor, but said nothing.

One of the women in the front row with a child in her lap looked up, smoothing her hand over her child's dark hair and pursed her lips a moment, but then she turned her face away as if she knew something.

Of course! They could all see! While she could not. They could read her, and knew why she was here, even if she had never said it, never even fully formed it in her own mind exactly what she was attempting. Just the thought of revenge that moved her, and the deep scar of memories of the loss of Galan all easily seen.

The attendant smiled and turned back into the room beyond the doorway and closed it as Sere came across the threshold.

"This will require your soul," she said.

Sere started, "Excuse- excuse me...?"

The attendant smiled again slowly, "I am the doctor, and what you want will require your soul," she laughed then at Sere's wide eyed look.

"Not exactly your soul, but scrapings of your skin cells to produce clones, and a full mind mapping. The first will take only a few minutes. The last will require several days. Not exactly your soul, but close enough."

"You know!" Sere said. It was obvious, of course, how could they not, when they were full Advent and she only one of the 'unseen'. They had felt it then too, the loss of the Empress... the deep wound and empty silence that had descended after.

"Yes..." The doctor said slowly, "You may call me T'e Lir." the woman said and turned back from the doorway and gestured toward an open room to the side.

"First we will take skin scrapings... that will only take a few minutes. For the other things you are looking for, that will take some time, we will begin next week with the training, and then after that, the surgery that you will need to 'see'".

Sere stared, she was used to being read, had been used to it all her life, but after Galan, after her wandering she had forgotten. It had been easy to hide things from the Outsiders who could not 'see', easy to lose herself in the comforting illusion that she was safe and unknown, just another stranger wandering from planet to planet. Her illusion had quickly been pulled away here among her own people.

Though she was grateful that she was with them here, and that she had made her own purpose, and that she had a chance at fulfilling that purpose.

"Yes." she said then as the Doctor turned and walked down the thin hallway that led to the smallish room with two old metal framed chairs in the center of the stained floor.

"Yes." she said as she sat and the Doctor turned and pulled open a drawer and removed a scalpel from the white plastic liner.

The Doctor smiled and moved the scalpel closer to Sere,

"Hold out your arm." she said.

*
*
*

(DS Roleplay / Trader Space - Petrograd, Ashanti Rim World, 12 Systems out from Galan)

 

Part Twenty Three of Teir -

 

-Teal

 

 

 

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9LWQWOWEaA&feature=related

 

 

 

 

Sere-

 

Old –

Petrograd, Ashanti Rim World
November 2nd, 2287 (11.2.2287.3)


 
She left the Doctor and the small stained room then, moving down the slim thin walled hallway and out into the dim lit lobby, crossing the old yellowed room to the gray-white door. Hooded faces
followed, turning slowly, but no one spoke.

The room was hot, the air fetid with the small odor of the ill, overlaid with traces of
disinfectant.

And of chlorine.

And ether.

At the door she slowly turned back toward the half crowded room and raised her head and
for a moment her white eyes regarded them, she murmured one word, "T'eSan", thank you,
then turned back and placed her hand against the cracked and weathered door.

It pulsed slowly, too slowly, the dim light brightening feebly under the cracked paint
against her fingers for a moment, as the door lurched then stopped, then slid back into
the old wooden door frame.

Old, she thought.

Old.

Nearing the end of its useful life.

As dying and dead timbers from an ancient forest might creak and stiffen in the frail
breeze, finally breaking and falling in some long forgotten deep while young saplings
and trees still stand flowering all around them.

The old always gives way to the new, she thought.

*

*

*

Seventy years before, on the ground where the old gray-white building rested, with its
white door, a smithy shop and garden had stood. The young husband worked, sweating in
the heat, through the day, the sound of hammer striking anvil across the long hours, as
farmers brought N'hel and yeet to the city to be shod.

The young wife had planted onions in the garden and smiled. Her husband had a fancy for
the spice of its taste mixed with the warm bread she made, or the beans and barely which
she cooked for their meals.

But those had been young days then, with the colony small and the Port not yet
completed, still frameworks of buildings and half raised brackets for holding the ships
that had yet still to come.

Raiders had come in those early days, easy prey they must have seemed to those black
bearded men. And one night, while the young husband slept, the naked arms of his young
wife about him the raiders had dropped from high orbit, and then lower, below even the
low clouds and released their bombs.

The timbered brown wall of the small house attached to the smithy shop had exploded then
in a wall of flame and an explosion of air that pushed out and then down.

The young wife had woken wide eyed, her gown burning and slapped it out with her hands,
covered in soot and splintered debris in the hallway. Beyond her the bedroom burned. She
screamed and tried to stand, though her legs did not obey her, watching as her young
husband tried to half rise up from the burning timbers that overlaid the crushed bed,
but then half the wall that had remained standing fell in smoking plaster and board over
the room and the ceiling of the room collapsed obscuring him from view.

She screamed again, and tried to rise, and fell, but put her burnt hands against the
dusted ash floor and pushed and tried to stand, swayed as the air roiled and burned and
tried to push back into the room, that now was red and yellow flame and no doorway stood
to admit her, only burning rubble and broken beams.

Arms groped at her and held her back, she screamed again and again, her throat choking in
the hot burning air.

"Noooooo....."

She pulled and yanked at the arms that gripped her, holding her back from running to her
husband, her feet strained at the ashed slick floor but found no purchase.

An old woman had pressed her wrinkled lips to the young wife's hair then and
whispered... " ... Can't... you... can't...".

And the young wife had broken down then and fallen to her knees in the burnt ash and let
the arms take her, pull her from the broken and burning house and her husband.

She had never rebuilt, and ten years after the city had purchased the land and laid over
it a foundation of a great building, covering over the old site of the smithy shop that
had burned, and over the garden where she had planted her onions. Stone covering the
ground and the young greening leaves that had sprouted in the warm spring sun.

The building had been The Great Mercantile and had stood for fifty years, with men in
high hats and smooth coats passing through the tall doors and the high ceilinged rooms
conducting business.

But the years passed, and in time even the great building was little more than a shade
of what it had once been, and the Port now prosperous had expanded and new shops and
great buildings were being built farther up along the river and the old building withered.

It was bought and then sold, and then bought and sold again half a dozen times before it
was sub-divided into smaller rooms that were let as tenements and small businesses,
painting their doors black in the traditional way. But others came, immigrants and the
doors were painted red, or green and finally a young woman came and opened a Medical and
painted one of the doors white, and painted white letters on the small, thin and old
glass window, her name and the symbol of the twining snakes below it.

*

*

*

Sere stood at the door and sighed, then slowly smiled with thanks to those she had come and met.

Though their eyes never appeared from beneath their hoods. She was grateful for the Doctor and
for those that had let her see her first, knowing her desire to avenge them all.

She stepped out into the bright dusty air of the street and made her way slowly home,
her footsteps slow across the rough stoned walkways, keeping her head down and averting
her eyes so as to not make herself too conspicuous. It was still early and so when she
came to the Shelter of the Holy Mother she went to the kitchen and sat with others
whose thin and wrinkled and hope forlorn faces stared at the thin oat cereal in their
bowls.

But she felt alive inside.

For the first time in months she felt alive.

She took up the thin worn spoon and spooned a mouthful of grainy oats with a stream of
thin yeet milk over it into her mouth, and smiled as she tasted it.

*
*
*

(TS / DS RP)

-=Trader Space=-

    The hoshiko arrives in the Dalna system and immediately receives a distress signal.
    "Captain, the system's fleet is under attack." the comms officer reports.
    "Are they in route to Laudon?" the captain requests.
    "No sir, opposite direction." the comms officer states.
    "Then we delay our trip, head for the conflict zone." the captain orders.
    "Delay that." Todd says as he walks onto the bridge.  "Head to Laudon first, then you can go have your fun."
    "Incoming message." the comms officer reports.
    "Put it up." the captain orders.
    A face of an elderly woman appears on the holovid. "Are you our reinforcements? Where is the rest of your fleet?" she asks.
    "Uh, no ma'am, we had no idea you were under attack." the captain answers.
    "Could you call in your fleet then we could really use the help.  The Vasari are attacking us and I fear we'll lose control of the system soon."
    Todd steps up, "No can do, lady.  Our fleet is much too far away to be of any use even if they could come to help.  I'm headed to Laudon, the captain here has already volunteered to help, but once my business is complete, we're out of here so he's not going to be risking this ship."
    "Very well, any help is appreciated." she says and cuts the feed.
    "Kind of rude, don't you think?" the captain asks Todd.
    "Don't want her getting her hopes up.  If they need to evacuate the system, they should be doing it already, not after their planets start getting bombed.  Helm, proceed to Laudon." he says.
    "Aye, sir." comes the reply.

    The hoshiko jumps deeper into the system en route to Laudon.  Upon arrival, Todd transfers to another ship and the hoshiko immediately heads off to battle.  Not long after that, Todd finds himself on the surface wandering around.  "Damn, this place got a lot bigger since I was last here." he mutters to himself getting the attention of a man walking by.
    "Can I help you find something?" the man asks.
    "If I wanted to find someone who isn't really interested in being found, where would I go?" Todd asks.
    "Well you could go to the police I guess...  Maybe city hall, or the hall of records."
    "Hall of records.  Where's that at?"
    "Down this street six blocks, make a right, head to the end and make a left at the last street and you should see it in the distance ahead."
    "Alright, thanks." Todd says and starts walking.

    The hoshiko enters the gravity well where intense fighting is occurring.  Countless ships are clashing in several different clusters.
    "Pull up to those light carriers and start repairs, get as much intel as you can get, when they're fixed, move up to this cluster and continue repair operations." the captain orders following several large flashes of light signifying the death of capital ships.
    "Aye, captain." come the replies.
    "Sir. TDN Michelangelo requesting our intent." a comms officer reports.
    "Tell them we're just visiting.  Once our business else where in the system is complete we have to leave." he replies.
    "Yes, sir." the comms officer says and begins to relay the message.
    The hoshiko pulls up to a group of 20 light carriers and repair bots stream out of every orifice.  They latch onto the carriers and begin welding shut the holes that are venting atmosphere and cutting lose damaged components so new ones can be put in their place.  The captains of the carriers all express their gratitude for the help since they've been neglected thus far.

    Todd finally walks up the steps of the hall of records and to the front receptionist.
    "Can I help you?" she asks.
    "I'm in town looking for someone." he says.
    "You should probably go to the police then, I can only look up public information like birth or death certificates, utility bills and such."
    "Well, it's not that simple.  This guy probably didn't use his real name so all I have to go off of is spending habits for alcohol, women, and equipment."
    "I still think the police would be better suited to help you."
    "I don't." Todd says as he pulls out his old TEC ID and hands it to her. "This person I'm looking for is a black projects researcher, like myself, so discretion is of the utmost importance in this matter.  From what I hear this system is about to be overrun, so going to the police only puts an official report into the system and then the Vasari know we're here and they come here looking to capture us and get a leg up on the latest TEC inventions and they blow past all of our defenses turning everyone into slaves along their path of destruction...  Now we don't want that happening now do we?"
    Her eyes widen as she shakes her head no.
    "Good, look up any transactions that would have a new comer buying up a large warehouse and lots of machining equipment as well as several state of the art computer systems.  They're probably going to be different names of people and companies doing the purchasing, so once you have the list, sort it by delivery address."
    The receptionist busies herself on her computer before sharing her find. "I have one address that received delivery of several large orders of machining equipment all by the same company, they've been outfitting the local shipyards with ship components ever since, and another nearby it that received similar shipments, but has yet to produce any sales on record."
    "Give me that one.  Oh, and since I'm pretty sure your search was logged, have it note that I was a small time private ship builder looking for a supplier.  No one else get's to know who I am or what I was really doing here, understand?"
    "Yes, of course, sir.  Happy to do my part for the troops."
    Todd smiles, nods, and walks away to go visit the new address he received.

    The repair bots all file back into their bays once the repairs on the light carriers were completed.  As per the captain's instructions, the ship moves to the edge of a cluster of ships in combat.  They first target other hoshikos in the area and begin the same repair actions done previously.  It doesn't take long before they take random pulse gun fire forcing them to retreat to the edge of the cluster of ships with heavier TEC concentration so they can use them as shields.
    "We hold position here until we hear back from from Mr. Degroff." the captain states.  "Notify the other hoshikos to pull back to our position if they need further repairs."
    "Aye sir." comes the reply from a few people.
    The captain mutters to himself, "Lots of good fighting going on and I have to coach from the sidelines...  Pathetic..."

(Personal / DS)

    The hours slowly pass until the sun dips below the horizon.  Casey jumps up from her resting place and makes her way back to the general store.  When she walks in through the door the clerk looks up at her.
    "Welcome back... Kimberly Ramiel?" he says.
    Casey nods and looks down for a moment. "You said you could introduce me to some people that could help me out?"
    "Information.  Answers.  Yes, if you really need to know." the clerk says.
    "Please." she says looking up at him once again.
    He walks over to her and reaches for a sign behind her.  Flipping it around to display the closed side to the public, he smiles to her, "Excuse me, I need to lock the door."
    "Oh." Casey says as she steps aside.
    "I can't leave the front of the shop open and unattended you know..." he says as he locks the door. "Please, follow me."
    The clerk leads her to the back room and to a wall with pictures of dozens of people. "These are the original settlers.  They all lost loved ones to the invaders and those religious zealot abominations.  Anyone willing to work with them is no better then they are if you ask me."  He rubs his hand across one of the pictures of a female.  He's lost in his own memories for a moment before he lifts the bottom of the picture up revealing a number pad.  He punches in some digits and a loud click is heard.  A portion of the floor slowly drops a few inches and then slides out of the way to reveal a staircase.
    "That's not standard equipment for these prefab dwellings..." Casey states with slight amusement.
    "No, money in the right places has it's advantages." the clerk says and he starts to walk down.
    Casey follows a few feet behind until they reach a large meeting room below almost as large as the shop above.  There are a few tables randomly scattered about but no chairs at any of them.  A few people wearing robes have already congregated near some doors on the opposite side.  "Are these the people I'm supposed to talk to?" she asks sheepishly.
    "Yes.  There's a few more we're still waiting on, but they'll be here any minute." the clerk answers.  "So let's go on over and introduce you, shall we?"
    "Okay." Casey answers.
    The two walk over to the group and pleasantries are exchanged all around.  Before they could finish, a group of several more people entered the room from a side door.  The hoods of their robes pulled over their heads.  They walk over to Casey and the others.
    "Is this her?" a male voice asks.
    "Yes." the clerk answers.
    "Thank you for helping me.  My name is Kimberly Ramiel and I..." Casey says until she is cut off.
    "That is not who you are!" a female voice says angrily before pulling her hood back.
    "Riona!?!" Casey states with shock.
    "Yes, and you are Casey Tahira, not Kimberly whatever...  You are an abomination of life!" Riona yells.
    In an instant, the clerk grabs Casey from behind, while one of the hooded individuals puts a bag over her head, and another clamps a collar of sorts around her neck to prevent her from using her mental powers and then ties up her hands.
    "What are we going to do with her?" one of the people asks.
    The hooded male says, "I don't know...  Probably execute her.  For now...  Take her to my quarters, Initiate."
    The hooded individual that bound her grabs her arm and proceeds to drag her out the door while she struggle futilely trying to escape.
    "What are you going to do with her?" Riona asks.
    "A gentleman never tells." he answers with before walking out of the room himself.
    Minutes later Casey is thrown into a chair and held into place while the hooded man walks in behind them.  He grabs the hood on her head and pulls it off.  "You are quite the looker aren't you.  Much prettier then what I had expected." he says.
    "I'm gonna kick your ass." Casey says trying to get up until she's slammed back down into her seat.
    "No...  You won't." the man says as he reaches for the zipper on her jacket.  Tugging on it slightly causing Casey to squirm as he continues, "If I were younger, I'd risk it, but not today."  He pulls back his hood revealing his identity.
    "Kieran?" she asks with a puzzled look on her face.
    He smirks and nods. "Fortunately for you, I'm being adequately compensated financially, so I don't need to spoil my own flesh by enjoying yours."
    The other hooded individual begins to chuckle and removes the collar from Casey's neck.
    She jumps up and grabs the chair to use it as a weapon should she need to.  "Who are you!?" Casey demands of the last individual.
    "You already know the answer to that." he says.
    Recognizing the voice she drops the chair. "Roesh...  What the hell!"
    He pulls back the hood revealing his face, "Next time, don't be so trusting of people who want you dead.  You're not a nameless face in the crowd like when I first picked you up."
    "You aren't either, but you're here."
    "I'm here posing as Kieran's house servant.  My identity isn't known.  My face hasn't been seen.  You, young lady, just waltz on in here, fully visible, wearing a Free Trader jacket, coming up with a ridiculous cover story..."
    "Yeah yeah...  Henry sent me to find you and I was just following your trail..."
    "And now you're dead.  Good job."
    "So I shouldn't follow Henry's orders?"
    "No, follow them, except when he has you following me.  I can't have you blowing my cover because Henry prefers an fight up front rather then destroying one from the inside."
    "Who are we fighting?"
    Kieran interrupts, "Allow me to answer that.  On another planet in a different region, we were having difficulties with a small group of people wanting to take out their own personal vengeance on the Advent, Vasari, Pirates, and even other humans with the TEC.  Normally a small group isn't important, but this small group had credits, and lots of them, and some powerful backing from politicians high up in the TEC chain of command.  When the order was handed down that we couldn't win a frontal assault against two enemies at the same time let alone three and fight against ourselves in the process, and that a more peaceful approach was to be considered, these people began to flex their muscles and influence and funded fleets to basically make sure that could never be a possibility.  All parties involved were eventually discovered, rounded up, given basic necessities to survive and sent out here where they couldn't be harmful to anyone.  And then you guys showed up."
    "That doesn't mean you get to bleed them dry of their earnings and treat them like slaves..." Casey states.
    "On the contrary.  Bleeding them out of their earnings is what I was ordered to do.  Being greedy was part of my cover.  I'm a deposed ruler of another system, who shared ideals like them, I put myself in power here and because I was a greedy governor, I get a portion of everybody's stuff and eventually I would lead them back to power.  So in the end, if they have no money, they can't buy the things they need to build a transmitter in space, they can't hire someone to come and get them, and they can't become a problem again." Kieran replies.
    Roesh speaks up, "And then we cut off Kieran's ability to communicate as well and ousted him and basically did exactly what this other group wanted because they were dissatisfied with how long things were taking.  We gave them access to credits and a seat of power."
    Casey smiles devilishly, "Wow, you got used like a prison bitch and didn't even know it."
    "Watch it...  I'll put this collar back on you and take my credits back from Kieran and lock the door on my way out." Roesh says.
    Kieran eyes her up with a perverted grin on his face.
    Casey tosses the chair at Kieran forcing him to seek cover.
    "Long story short, after relieving Riona of her duties, certain grumbling was brought to my attention and I decided to use Kieran as a spy on the inside.  I gave him a way to communicate with our systems undetected which he used to contact his superiors, who in turn finally made contact with me on my way back here."
    "And you can't just call him up saying you got the message so you had to come here instead, and YOU can't come here so you as someone else had to." Casey adds.
    "And I was about to leave when a certain person was discovered to be in town and was going to be caught." Roesh says.
    Kieran continues, "So we came to your rescue.  By the way, you're to be executed in a few hours when our ships launch."
    "They'll be discovered, they have to know that." Casey states.
    "Yes, but thanks to our lock down of the system and lack of building up strong defenses internally, they're going to be able to do some damage before Tim can respond accordingly." Roesh comments.
    "So they're responsible for the trade station being blown up..." Casey muses out loud.
    "I don't think so." Kieran says. "Granted, I don't hear very much of anything since they don't trust me very much, and at this point anything is possible, but no one is happy about it.  I haven't heard one person say you guys deserved it or anything.  They're probably as pissed off about it as you are, only they're going to use it as a reason not to trust your kind or the Vasari."
    "How are we getting out of here boss?" Casey asks.
    "Easy.  Kieran executes you and I just walk away." Roesh states with a smile.
    "Um...  No..." Casey states.
    "Don't worry, he's going to shoot you, the bullet is just a blood pellet, it'll look like you got shot in the chest...  Though you're going to have to do a much better acting job of dying then you did playing the grieving widow." Roesh says.
    "Seriously, I used to watch programs on the holovid as a kid and the actors were all amateurs...  They were horrible...  And yet, I'd say they were far better..." Kieran adds.
    "OKAY!" Casey says raising her voice.  "I get it...  I've been almost killed a few times now I think I can do a better job of pretend dying..."
    Roesh smiles, "Don't pout just yet, the fun part happens right before Riona comes to collect you."
    "What happens then?" Casey asks.
    "Well, it has to look like I was having my fun with you." Kieran says.
    "Excuse me!?!  I am not letting you get within five feet of me." Casey interjects.
    Roesh laughs, "Well, here's how it's going to be.  I'm going to be outside patiently waiting for you guys to...  Finish up.  When Riona comes I'll tap the door and step aside.  Kieran, if he's not already there will head into the bathroom and act like he's just cleaning himself up.  You..." Roesh pauses just long enough to walk over to the bed and pull the covers back.  "You have to get in and slide your feet and hands through these ropes and pull so they tighten and give the appearance you were tied down."
    Kieran adds, "And you can't be in your current clothes."
    "I'm not getting naked..." Casey says with clear disgust on her face.
    "You can wear this robe." Kieran says as he tosses it to her.  "And this gag if you're going to be complaining the whole time." he adds while holding it out for her.
    Roesh laughs as her face changes to anger and she storms off to the bathroom to change.
    "I don't think she likes me." Kieran states.
    "I don't like you either, but you two do make a lovely couple." Roesh answers.
    "Really?" Kieran asks.
    "No." Roesh says as he sits down.
    A few minutes later, Casey returns and drops her old clothes on the floor.  "For the record.  I hate you both."
    "Don't be stupid next time." Roesh says.  "Oh, and put this back on." he adds as he tosses her the collar that blocks her mental abilities.  "Well...  Since all we have to do is wait now...  Everyone to their places and be ready."
    Roesh pulls the hood back over his head and takes up his place outside the door.  Casey sits down on the bed never taking her untrusting eyes off of Kieran, who in response, smiles and sits in a chair and patiently stares back.  The time passes slowly but eventually Riona and her entourage make their way down the hall.  Roesh taps the door as they approach alerting the two inside to enact their part of the plan.
    "Open it." Riona demands of who she thinks is Kieran's servant.
    Roesh nods silently and presses some numbers on the keypad opening the door.  Riona walks in followed by Roesh.  She see's Casey gagged and tied up to the bed.  "Kieran, play time's over." she says as she walks over to Casey.  She leans down to whisper in Casey's ear, "Hope you enjoyed yourself, because I'm going to kill you myself."
    Casey, as best as she can in her gagged state, yells out several choice words to describe what she thinks of Riona.  Kieran walks out of the bathroom acting like he just got dressed and helps Roesh untie Casey and keep her under control as she fights to regain her freedom.  Riona heads out of the room followed by Kieran, and Roesh grabs Casey's clothes from off the floor and then takes Casey by the arm and follows the others down the hall.  After a few turns they eventually make their way to a large underground hanger.  Hundreds of people are boarding the ships to staff them.  The group stops near the ramp of one of the two Heavy Cruisers prompting Kieran to pull out his gun.
    He states, "Since I don't get to go and join the rest of you, I'd like to take this opportunity to say...  Let this Advent's blood be the first little bit of an ocean of blood that's to follow."
    Riona pulls out a gun herself prompting Roesh to step into her way.  Kieran fires and hits Casey square in the chest.  The impact of the pellet was stronger then she was expecting forcing her to let out a slight whimper of pain as she dropped to the floor.  Roesh walks over to Casey and throws her clothes down over her face and Kieran spits at the ground near her.  He turns around to see Riona's face full of anger.
    "Oh, I suppose you wanted to do that?" Kieran asks rhetorically. "No, this one's mine.  You don't get to keep all of the fun stuff to yourself."
    Riona just turns around full of rage and boards the ship.  As the doors on the ships close and the hanger roof begins to slide open exposing the sky above, Roesh picks Casey up and puts her over his shoulder to carry her out.  Kieran leads the way closing the hanger doors behind them just seconds before the ships rocket boosters ignite assisting the large metal behemoths off the ground and slowly on their way into orbit.  Roesh carries Casey to another hanger where a few shuttles are waiting around unattended.  Kieran boards one and Roesh carries Casey onto another.  He not so gently puts her down on the floor and tells her to get changed while he powers up the craft.  By the time the second hanger's doors were opened, Kieran was already off the ground and Casey was changed and joining Roesh at the controls.  The two craft then exit the hanger in time to see the other ships with their rocket boosters burning bright soaring high in the sky.
    "Well...  I can't stop what happens next." Roesh says.
    "Nope...  But I did see you prevent Riona from shooting me." Casey adds.
    "Yeah, new rule, I only have to save you once in a day.  After that you're on your own."
    Casey giggles slightly. "So where are we going?"
    "Back to the forest so you can call in that you found me passed out a little ways in and someone can come and get us." Roesh replies.
    Moments later Roesh and Casey repel from the shuttle as it hovers low to the trees.  Once on the ground, Casey hits a couple buttons on a remote that turns the autopilot on and causes the shuttle to speed away.  She then calls in their location.

    An attendant knocks on Henry's door before she opens it.  "Sir, I've got two important messages for you.  The first is Miss Tahira, she's reported in that she's found Roesh in the forest near the crash site, salvage was the closest in the area and they're picking them up to bring them in."
    "Good." Henry says.  "What's the other?"
    The attendant continues, "Ships appeared in low orbit around the planet and have began to attack our defenses.  Starbase Sorsk has launched it's strike craft but they're not doing much since the ships are protected by at least one anti strike craft frigate.  Tim is responding but he states it'll be several minutes before fleet elements can jump in.  Should I contact the David's Lions?"
    Henry considers it for a second.  "I'm pretty sure they've picked up the ships by now as well and are responding in some fashion, but send them an assistance request from me anyway."
    The attendant nods and walks away while Henry busies himself trying to get a hold of Roesh and Casey.

(DS Personal)

Commodore Wayakm looks out the window of the Argonev starbase at the battered Syndicate fleet clustered around the Ethea star and sighs. With the Admiral Dachard dead in the recent pirate attack command has fallen into his reluctant hands until the replacement from trader space arrives. The debris from the Sova which was Dachard’s flagship continues to pelt the station’s shields when an ansible message informs Wayakm that the replacement Admiral should be arriving soon.

Wayakm is surprised that a replacement should arrive so soon, being a newcomer to the Distant Stars the Jessore-Khulna Syndicate is still taking orders from Trader Space. The disadvantage of being late to seize a piece of the pie means that there is an enormous amount of red tape in official appointments.

They must have had this guy already down for the job, thinks Wayakm. Then he pauses and thinks, this guy must have rankled a lot of high ups to get sent here immediately.

**********

That was outrageous! Thinks Zaroday, an utter rip off! He punches the bulkhead in fury which promptly ends his angry thoughts. Calming down he calculates how many credits he has left in his budget. If only that tight-arse had arranged my wormhole fare beforehand, he must be laughing himself silly in his golden bathtub. I am 15000 credits down which doesn’t leave much left for planetary development; I’ll just have to make do.

On the helm of his Kol battleship Talonclaw Zaroday makes a telecall to his head of civil development, “Lina I’m cutting your budget in half”.

“What!” comes a furious voice from the other end, “is this one your bad jokes?!”

“Unfortunately someone has to take one for the team for the outrageous wormhole fare Ue charged us”

“And you think of me first! Do want a rebellion on your hands when we get to Ethea? Half the reason the people pay their taxes in this sector is the higher quality of life we give them”

And the other half is fear of the Vasari and Advent “No I don’t want an uprising, so deal with it” or your fired, thinks both of them. Zaroday ends the call and dreads the next board meeting.

The bridge crew around Zaroday breath a collective sigh of relief that they are not getting pay cuts any time soon. “Sir”, one of them calls out with a bit too much intensity “We’re about to leave phase space in ten minutes”. Hmm…, Zaroday thinks, I wonder what the state of Syndicate assets is in Distant Stars.

His answer is not very encouraging, as his fleet of forty ships exits phase space they are greeted by a damaged Argonev starbase leaking atmosphere and the 89 ships left of the task force of the late Admiral Dachard.

“Sir, we’re being hailed” says the communications officer.

“This Orissa station, identify yourselves” says a grainy voice.

“This is Raozack Zaroday, Admiral of the Distant Stars fleet of the Jessore-Khulna Syndicate” declares Zaroday in his best official voice.

“Holy… ah um let me get the ah Commodore” stammers a youthful voice.

There is sound of quick shuffling, a short wait and a weary voice answers “This Acting Admiral Wayakm, welcome to Ethea, pleased to meet you finally Admiral Zaroday, please take a shuttle to Orissa station so I can transfer command”.

And so, the first part of my distant stars story has begun, Thinks Zaroday with quiet anticipation.

**********

Wayakm and Zaroday meet at the control centre of the Argonev. Zaroday being safe rather than sorry brings along ten marines in ceremonial dress, though the weapons are real in the case of treachery. The pair shake hands and greet each other.

“Admiral allow me to report our current status” starts Wayakm.

“Please call me Z” corrects Zaroday.

“Very well, call me Way as well”, I wonder if this guy is related to the man who’s the chief shareholder of the Syndicate, Wayakm idly muses.

It shows on his face, as if knowing what Wayakm was thinking – or rather not as that would have made the new Admiral an Advent, Z says in a tired voice “yes, I am related to Aroiya Zaroday”.

“How so?”  

“I’m his son” Z replies bluntly.

“Oh…” says Way uncomfortably, knowing that Aroiya Zaroday’s two sons were a politician and a researcher.

“I’m the black sheep nobody likes to talk about”. Z’s tone informs Way that the subject is closed.

“Okay… back to where I was, we have colonised a desert world, a terran planet called Tripoli, a volcanic planet and 4 asteroids. We currently possess 17 metal extractors and 5 crystal extractors. Our fleet with the addition of your ships now consists of 129 ships comprising of 32 cobalts, 28 LRM’s, 14 flak frigates, 5 siege frigates, 10 light carriers, 14 Kodiaks, 9 Cielos, 9 Hoshikos, 4 Arcovas, one Sova, one Kol, one Akkan and one Dunov”.

Z stares at the holomaps of the planets and asks “where is the frigate factory?”      

“That was ah… destroyed in the recent pirate attack, they ah occupy a nearby asteroid and they’re blocking us from colonising this system’s only ice planet.

“We’ll have to build a frigate factory and wipe out these pirates”.

“Yes sir”

“I’ll get Lina and Jason to commence development and meet the civil leaders soon” With that Zaroday leaves the Argonev strides back to his personal quarters.

**********

On his return he is greeted by an angry woman, at first thought he thinks it’s Lina but is mistaken when he dodges a hurled shoe.

“What is this stupid notion you have that I’m living planetside?!” the woman shouts hysterically.

“Bella, calm down” Z replies in a soothing voice. The effect is promptly ruined when he adds “It’s for your own safety”.

“WHAT! You get to fight aliens and witches while I watch holovids of Home and Gone! I want some excitement as well”.

“Look at it this way, if I get blown up, you get blown up as well, and there’s plenty of ways to get excited on Tripoli without getting blown up”.

“No”, she sulks, with that Z knows that nothing short of forced removal will stop her from tagging along.

With a sigh he gives in, “alright now you can come along but you’ll have to entertain yourself while there’s nothing going on”.

“Somebody has to call your pathetic jokes and I get to have two rooms”.

“That’s just pushing it” warns Z.

“Alright whatever, do what you have do to keep this thing intact”.

As Z walks away he thinks to himself perhaps her acquiescence means that she intended to come along from the start of the voyage. As he muses his communicator beeps open, “Sir!” calls out one of the bridge crew in frantic voice, “We have pirate raiders coming out of phase space!”

(DS RP)

Z races to bridge and asks for a sitrep.

“Sir we have 78 vessels including 5 capitals at the edge of the grav well”

“Pirates in this sector have capital ships?” asks Z in disbelief.

“They must have a good supplier”

Zaroday analyses the composition of the pirate fleet, 22 rogues, 20 reapers, 12 pillagers, 10 corsairs, 9 cutthroats, 3 Jolly Roger battleships, one Halcyon and one Desolator. Z has no idea how these pirates have alien capital ships but assumes their supplier must be good.

The pirate fleet is bunched into a mass while their TEC counterparts are spread out throughout the star’s gravity well.

They must be enroute to Tripoli, Z thinks, if my fleet hadn’t arrived then we’d have been toast since they had more capital ships. Now it’s fairly even though it’ll still be a hard fight.

While contemplating his battle plan Z walks over to sit on his captain’s chair only to find it already occupied by Bella.

“Get out of my chair and go to your quarters” says Z indignantly.

“I’m merely in the centre of the action and if this ship blows up then it doesn’t matter where I am, might as well have some fun first”.

The bridge crew stare at each other in confusion at the mysterious woman who the Admiral carries around with him. Not letting his authority slip Z finds an alternative solution.

“Could one of you please raise your hand to vacate your seat for the miss?” No one offers, Zaroday sighs, “how about for a raise?” multiple hands go up including several vital battle positions, Z promptly remembers his financial situation and amends his question, “of 1% of 1 credit”. Pretty much all the hands go down except for a couple of poorly paid ensigns. Z picks one and the man leaves the seat leaving Bella to plonk herself down silently.

With the drama on the bridge over Z issues his commands, “Launch half the strikecraft, the majority of their reapers are in the centre of the fleet, harass the enemy on the flanks and pick off any stragglers. I want all ships to use the star base as rally point, Understood?” The other captains signal their affirmatives and follow their orders.

Meanwhile TEC strikecraft are causing superficial damage to the pirates with 2 rogues and a pillager going down.

“Alright” says Z, “move the ship towards the centre of the enemy fleet”. The crew stare at each other at this apparently suicidal order but does what the admiral orders while silently praying to whatever gods they believe in.    

The Talonclaw moves faster than any TEC capital ship the pirates have ever seen. This was because Z had the ship specially modified back in trader space. Using the archaic armour configuration of “All or Nothing” the areas of the ship which are vital to its function such as the antimatter stores and bridge are protected with the most amount of armour possible while the non-critical areas (of which the crew think are too many) such as the crew quarters are barely armoured at all. This grants the Talonclaw a surprising amount of speed while skimping on armour, primarily relying on shields. God help any sleeping crew members if the Kol battleship is ever attacked by Varsari phase missles.

As halfway between the pirate fleet and Talonclaw Z orders a u turn, seeing a single lone enemy battleship the pirates light ships race out to engage. Z has the pirate fleet practically following his ship towards the Argonev on the other side of the star with the TEC strikecraft taking out any ships that leave the protection of their reapers while dispatching any pirate strikecraft the Halcyon puts out. Despite the speed boost the Talonclaw is engaged by several rogues with the battleship’s rear guns duly return fire.  

Certain of no surprises Z orders the rest of the strikecraft to be launched.

As the Talonclaw approaches Orissa station with the pirates in hot pursuit the rest Zaroday’s fleet engage the advanced elements of the pirate fleet with the lead rogues are destroyed. As the rest of the pirate fleet approaches the starbase and the fleet open fire. Too late the pirates realise their miscalculation with additional TEC reinforcements. The battle becomes a slugfest which the pirates are rapidly losing to the numerically superior TEC fleet. Though the pirates inflict losses they lose tens of ships and one Jolly Roger battleship.

Realising the battle is lost the pirate commander orders a general withdrawal losing more ships to strikecraft and frigates.

Back on the bridge of the Talonclaw people cheering they’re victory, Bella looks over her shoulder while fingering the ensign's coffee and says “I don’t know if that was stupid or brilliant”

“Perhaps both,” Z grins leaving Bella shaking her head.

 “Do we pursue?” asks Wayakm over the fleet comms.

“No, we don’t know what’s on the other end, get the Arcova captains to draw straws and send one over to check out the pirate base later”. The commodore says an affirmative and ends the communication.

**********

A month passes by and Z and his people do their best to consolidate their holdings, building a second starbase called Shrinigar around the Ethea star with another in construction. It is getting hard to appease the civilians with Lina’s lean budget (which she still hasn’t forgiven Z over) and pirates launching nuisance raids on their trade routes.

Z calls Lina in telling her; “I’m ordering all trade ships to travel in convoys to minimise losses to pirate attacks”

“But the merchants and businessmen won’t stand for such a dip in profits. It’s infringing on their civil rights!”

“Make them see eye to eye, I have something in mind” Z thinks of the Kormoran project and smiles in satisfaction. “Also tell Jason to focus our military research on advanced shields.

Lina leaves with a huff and Z goes back to perusing over official documents on his holopad.

**********

While sleeping on his bunk Zaroday is woken up by an ensign who informs him that he is wanted on the bridge on urgent matters. Grumbling that it must be urgent in order to wake him up and threatening to skin everyone alive if it turns out to be space dust in the engines Z makes his way the bridge. Bella is already there feet up on the console staring at Z saying “we’re being invaded”.

“What’s going on?” Z asks everyone in general.

“Sir, we have picked up a huge fleet approaching the Ethea system on our sensors. They appear to be TEC but we don’t know if they are hostile”.

“How many ships and when will they get here?”

“I’m picking up 8 capitals and over 300 smaller vessals, they will exit phase space in three minutes”

Note to self, thinks Z, if I survive this, replace damn psidar with something new. “Mobilize the fleet at Orissa station” Not that’ll do much against such a large fleet.

Three minute pass too quickly and Z and the small fleet he has assembled watch as a vast TEC fleet that is battle damaged materializes in the Ethea grav well.

“Unknown TEC fleet please transmit your intentions” Z hails over the intercom.

“Well, it’s great to finally see you after all this time, you manipulating snake” says a familiar voice.

“It’s great to see you as well you sadistic sociopath, what brings you here Adruth?” asked Z in a comfortable voice, the crew breathe a sigh of relief that the fleet is not hostile.

There is note of annoyance as Adruth answers “I bring news from Trader Space”.

“That couldn’t be sent by ansible?”

“The ansible communications were blocked”.

Z raises an eyebrow and says “I’m listening”.

“The Tondam Corporation has launched a hostile takeover of the Jessore-Khulna Syndicate, the primary shareholder has been liquidated, the Syndicate no longer exists”

Zaroday shrugs at his father’s death and asks “are you here to arrest to me?”

“Depends”

“On what, Rizung?”

 “On whether or not you’ll let me and my pals join you”  

“Welcome aboard, I’ll get the formal stuff done later, what else happened in Trader Space?”

“Well…, the Tondam Corporation is gunna send a retaliatory fleet after us”

“What did you do Adruth?” asks Zaroday slowly in resignation.

“Well apart from going AWOL with my fleet which they regard as one of their new assets I also ransacked the now defunct Syndicate treasury”

Z sits up upon hearing this, “how much did you steal”

On the side Bella whispers loudly for all to hear “Now you can see his mouth salivate”.

After a dramatic pause Rizung answers “seventy thousand credits”

“You’re definitely in”

“I thought you could use the encouragement, old friend” Rizung says the last bit with a certain distaste which says he doesn’t have many friends.

“So I assume your ships got damaged from escaping the Tondam dragnet?”

 After an uncomfortable moment of hesitation Rizung says “You assume incorrectly”.

“So who did you fight?” the resignation was back in full swing.

“It’s not my fault Ue charges outrageously for wormhole fares”

“No, do not tell me you blasted your way through the most powerful TEC faction in Distant Stars”.

“Fifty thousand credits my ass, it was a rip off so I acted accordingly”.

“So you’ve just brought two powerful TEC factions down on me”

“No, I’ve got some intelligence, as far as Ue knows I was part of the Tondam Corporation fleet.

“Great, that still leaves one”

“Whose fleet will be arriving soon”

“Alright, let’s rally our forces”, Z ends the communication and sighs.

“So biya, what are we called now?” asks Bella.

“Huh?”

 “Since the Syndicate is now defunct what are we called now?”

“Oh”, Zaroday thinks for a short while and replies, “Let’s call ourselves the Renaissance Eagles”.

Bella mutters under her breath "lame name, why not the Cherubic Space Ponies?".

And now, thinks Z, the newly founded Renaissance Eagles shall face their first battle. How ironic that it’s against another TEC faction.  

(DS Roleplay /  Trader Space - Petrograd, Ashanti Rim World, 12 Systems out from Galan)

 

Part Twenty Six of Teir -

 

-Teal

 

 

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HpePFbaT8c

 

 

 

 

Sere-

 

Live Test –
Part Two -

Petrograd, Ashanti Rim World
November 12th, 2287 (11.12.2287.10)

    *
    *
    *

    For close to two hours she ran the gamet of streets, gray and brown fronted buildings with columns already damp with the evening mist falling from a low overhang of dark clouds almost invisible against the night sky.

How do you get close enough to a fully psychic Advent to kill them?

The building fronts were dusted with grime and spray painted graffiti with many of the shop fronts dark and empty beyond the front facing windows. The result of trade moving further up along the coast and the west section indigent population largely out of work.

 Especially when she can read you, but you can't read her?

Large buildings towering twenty and more stories but largely empty facing broad 4 lane streets devoid of all but foot traffic even in the full of daylight, now empty except for the street gangs that roamed up and down the long concourses. Small, thin back streets branching off in a myriad of directions off the main boulevards, lost in shadow and back alley's with trash cans and dim light falling from the street lights at the corners.

It was an interesting problem, but no solutions jumped immediately to mind. Sere had worked on Galan as a Transceiver tech and the crystals in the complex had focused and diffused incoming and outgoing psi signals. But building and refining such crystals had all been accomplished with psi abilities, they were beyond her skills to locate or duplicate here.

She moved along the street, limping from the throbbing ache that had tightened itself into a knot in the middle of her thigh, her thin hands still shook when she checked the magazine one more time, it hadn't changed, but she felt the necessity to continually re-check her bearings and equipment. She went up one street, then stopped at the corner as a group of thugs came down the opposite side of the street, pulling back into the shadows and waiting for them to pass.

But they entered an alley half a block up, disappearing into the black shadow of its entrance.

She waited.

15 minutes by Tech time, barely a hundredth of a cycle on any Advent world. Tech time was always local to the planet you were on, but Advent time was always calculated against the long dead home world. It was strange for a culture to measure time against a single planet or system, there was no history or meaning in it. Just oblivious, faceless, meaningless mechanical seconds clicking off inside a machine.

Where was the meaningful history in that?

When they didn't re-appear she rounded the corner and went up the street hanging against the edges of the building fronts close to the shadows when she could. She passed the alley way where the group of three youths had disappeared and continued, as quickly as she could. At the next corner she stopped and peered around the brick lined edge of the building.

"Out for a evening stroll then are we love?" came a voice above and behind her, she turned in a blur, and felt the quick ache of adrenalin aftershock and the spasming of her muscles underneath her skin, nausea swelled up in her chest that threatened to have her spilling her guts all over the street front, and saw six of the red arm banded youths standing on a stairwell behind her. Scruffy faced and glaring eyes, loose dark pants and white shirts, dirty braided hair hanging down into their eyes.

Two were girls.

She hadn't heard them at all.

What kind of training did that speak of?

She wanted to laugh.

With enough adrenalin in her she would have heard them half a block away, without it she was just a too thin girl with too dim senses and too slow reflexes.

Six of them.

She realized she was holding the gun in her right hand, wearing the training suit with the six adrenalin injectors across her right thigh, a sleeve of six blades sewn into the shoulder seam at the top of her back. She could hardly claim she was innocent.

Would they jump her?

Or as part of the neighborhood would they protect her?

Well, she certainly didn't look part of the neighborhood.

She decided to run.

Turning in a blur and around the corner. She was up half a block as the group of youths came around the corner of the building jumping and yelling. She turned left and into an alley, then promptly leaned over and threw up all over the ground. Her stomach heaved and cramped as she wiped her mouth and ran for the back of the alley pulling an injector from her thigh and jamming the needle into her other leg as she ran. She screamed as it hit her system and she stopped, running up short against a gray- black wall of brick and turned as the youths came around the corner of the alley and stood with their backs to the thin light of the streetlamp.

The tall one in the middle that had addressed her laughed and pulled a blade from his boot.

"You run like a bloody lady on fire, you know that don'tcha?"

She could kill them, she knew it, but it wouldn't help anything would it. It wouldn't help to find T'e Lir and this group certainly didn't deserve to die just because they had the bad grace to come across her path.

She turned to the wall and jumped straight up twenty feet, catching the edge of a window sill of some vacant apartment. She smashed the butt of the gun into the glass and shattered it and went through in one motion.

She didn't bother looking back.

Through the empty apartment, old furniture laying against the walls, dust overlaid everything in fine white, leaving tracks on the floor, beds, toys laying neglected against the wall, a poster of a Rock Band with the lead singer leaning into the camera with his mouth pressed into a microphone. Green-purple braids dangling.

She wanted to smile.

She had listened to that kind of music in her teens. In her rebellious phase. It was common, even on Advent worlds with Advent children.

She moved through the rest of the apartment and through the door to a staircase and went up, up toward the roof.

The door to the roof was locked and she kicked in the door, bending it back off its hinges as she smashed at it with her boots, moving out into the cool wet air as the door fell back and banged against the outer wall, the top hinge torn back, but still holding.

The next building over was thirty feet from this one, she inhaled quickly and sprinted, pushing her boots into the rough surface of the tarmacked top and just before reaching the edge she jumped.

Sailing out over the drop twenty stories down across to the next building that was twenty five. She arced and fell, losing a floor, and then two in height, as she fell across the distance to the other building, she smashed into a window on the opposite side and through it, falling and rolling as she came up in an occupied room, a man and woman were sitting up in bed,  their eyes wide as she came up onto her feet the gun out in front of her.

She wanted to smile, but pushed through the rest of the house, turning right and coming up into a dead end in the kitchen, having to backtrack and turn back left to the front room and the front door of the house. She opened the door quickly and closed it behind her softly and turned and went up the staircase at the end of the landing, she was already up a floor when the door opened and the man and the woman peeked out onto the landing with the sheet still wrapped around them, a little boy peeked his head through beside his mother's legs.

"What happened." he asked in a curious voice, but his mother just reached down and ran a hand through his hair.

"Nothing honey, nothing, just go back to bed."

Sere kept moving up, the voices fading as she moved up another seven floors to the roof.

the next building across was only a twenty story, she sprinted for the edge anyway, reaching the lip of the tar papered brick top and jumping. Halfway across she felt an adrenalin tremor through her and started shaking uncontrollably, she fell five floors and hit the other roof hard and rolled, flipping over side over side as she tucked her hands in against her sides, skidding against the rough tar papered surface that tore at her hands and training suit, tearing a hole in the back over her shoulder and tearing at the skin, blood quickly welled up in the scraped patch across her shoulder and back and finally she came to a stop, ten feet from the edge of the building that let down another ten stories to the next building over.

She lay on the surface of the roof on her back, breathing hard through her mouth. It was possible to use another injector and keep going, but it was hardly worth it. She had gotten away from the street gang without killing any of them, which she counted as a plus and using any more injectors would only mean less when she did catch up with T'e Lir, or when T'e Lir caught up with her.

She still didn't know what she was going to do about actually getting close enough to T'e Lir to actually pull off a kill. Likely it would be the other way around, she wouldn't have to worry about sneaking up on her and not being caught out first, likely she would find herself in the middle of an attack before she knew it, and simply trying to stay alive.

She lay on her back on the roof and simply tried to get through the adrenalin aftershocks, her legs and arms cramped up terribly and she could hardly move them at all without wanting to scream out.

She had to sleep, and couldn't go back to the shelter. That would only be predictable and put the others in the shelter at risk.

She spent the next two hours trying to fall asleep, trying to decide where T'e Lir might have gone, but here T'e Lir had years of knowledge of the city, while she did not. The small six square block area she had covered, had only yielded random groups of red arm banded youth groups and innocent residents. There was no use in involving them and they were not her target. It was true she could possibly have forced one or two of them into trying to find a location for T'e Lir. But her encounters tonight had only shown her too well that her bungling about had only antagonized and panicked those she had come across.

And the street gangs were really not thugs in the strictest sense at all, but a citizens patrol. Not an official police force, but one that was certainly in harmony with the indigent people who lived in the run down neighborhoods here.

For the same reason going to the clinic was out of the question, any of the Advent staff, or patients would be able to 'see' what she intended. It would only frighten them, or give T'e Lir advance warning.

She lay on her back as her aching spasming muscles contracted and then released, gritting her teeth against the cramping pain.

She needed sleep.

She was exhausted.

But didn't know where to go.

She fell asleep before she could think of a place.

*
*
*



 

(DS RP)

Over 250 ships gather around the gravity well of the Ethea star, congregating in two masses around the two constructed starbases. The starbase still under construction lies abandoned by the TRE ships and is the first starbase the attackers will encounter when they exit phase space. The TRE ships are a mixture of Kodiaks, Hoshikos, Gardas and LRM missle frigates with 3 Dunov’s, 2 Kols including the Talonclaw and a Marza, Adruth’s flagship Rizung’s Revenge.

The tension in the air is palpable; many of the crew have never fought against other humans. Usually fighting the Vasari or the Advent, fighting other humans in pitched battle brings back bad memories of the brutal wars which ravaged humanity and were finally brought to an end by the Trade order over a thousand years before. Pirates of course were an exception since they were criminals, disputes such as the Tondam takeover were settled with assassins and minor issues such as Adruth’s refusal to pay a wormhole fare and subsequent breakout were fuelled by the heat of the moment. On the other hand, coldly preparing to fight people you would normally think of as comrades is having a bad effect on morale. The crew work less efficiently but nevertheless like all humans in war, the adrenaline of combat against anyone will soon override those concerns. At least, that was what Z hoped and not a mutiny.

The Tondam fleet of over 450 ships slowly emerges from phase space and Zaroday hails the Admiral over the ansible trying to avoid a confrontation and asks “state your intentions Tondam fleet”.

“We are here to arrest one Adruth Rizung and Raozack Zaroday and associated peoples” says cold voice from the other end.

“What is your name mister?” Z asks flippantly.

“My name is Admiral Keating, do I have your understanding that you will surrender?”

Humph, your voice analysis software must have told you who I am, thinks Z. “We are an independent entity and if you do not leave this gravity well in 20 minutes then we will consider your presence as an act of war, do you really want humans to be fighting each other again?” who said humans couldn’t play mind games?

**********

On his Sova flagship Sirion, Keating considers his next move. This Zaroday is a smart character, but talk won’t get this distant stars yokel anywhere with me.

“You do understand that I have a numerical superiority? So you’re in no position to make demands, you’re just a group of renegades”.

“Yes but I have two starbases”

Keating notices Zaroday’s ships are clustered around the two starbases. A third abandoned starbase is closer to Keating’s fleet but obviously not finished with construction rigging snaking around it and a Raloz heavy constructor lying motionless next to it. Keating dismisses it and begins to organise his fleet into two ranks with Kodiaks and cobalts at the front and hoshikos, Cielos, Percherons and LRM’s at the back to provide support. Of the admirals 15 capital ships, 4 Kols are at the front, with the Marzas, Dunovs, Akkans and Sovas at the rear.

Humph, thinks Keating, you made a mistake in splitting your forces; I’ll just attack one starbase with my full force and attack the other afterwards.

Keating’s 400 ships move towards Orissa station guarded by just 150 of Z’s ships. Keating, thinking the starbases have only weapon and hull upgrades with the absence of strikecraft launch his bombers to take out Z’s heavy ships.

Keating soon realises his error with over 20 squadrons of TRE fighters taking off from the two starbases and capital ships. Hurriedly, Keating launches his fighters to rectify his mistake but he already lost a third of bombers before his fighters could occupy the TRE fighters.    

Damn bastard was waiting for me! Keating thought furiously, and I fell right into it! I can’t make anymore assumptions, perhaps those starbases are fully upgraded and he has 14 squadrons of bombers docked.

Keating’s front rank engages the TRE ships defending Orissa station. The station is outfitted with docking booms repairing any damaged TRE vessels in addition to the hoshikos and Dunovs. But Keating’s rear rank also repairs his frontline ships making the battle go slowly. However, with his greater numbers Keating is poised to overcome his opponent. As if knowing this predicament, Ogrov torpedo Cruisers soon start to bombard the starbase itself.

On the bridge of his flagship, Keating is hailed by Z. Initially surprised Keating assumes victory. “So, you ready to surrender boy?”

“Not quite, so you see I have a surprise for you”.

Huh? Keating thinks, and your telling me yourself now?

“Sir!” shouts one of the ensign’s; “we’re picking up activity on the starbase, its powering up its weapons!”.

What starbase? Thinks Keating, the two starbases are ready in the fight…

 “You see the starbase you passed wasn’t under construction, it’s a fully operational starbase.

Back on the bridge of the Talonclaw Bella thinks aloud “Hmm… I think that line comes from an archaic movie I saw for ancient history, back in the pre-space ages.

Oh shit

All of a sudden, Keating’s rear rank of support ships is devastated by lasers, beams and salvos of missles. Tens of ships go down including a Dunov, the starbase that Keating ignored comes back to haunt him. As if in concert, 14 squadrons of TRE bombers launch from the other two starbases. The support ships scatter trying to escape the crippling fire and run directly into Shrinigar station and its 100 ships. For the first time, the TRE ships in Orissa station gain the upper hand over their more numerous opponents with the absence of their support ships. Z senses victory and orders Wayakm to bring in the reinforcements, back in Tripoli, the 130 ships Z kept in reserve begin the phase jumping sequence.

**********

High Psintegrat it seems that there are TEC ships fighting each other in the Ethea system, reported Sethis

What do you make of this Empyrial Reaver Sethis? Asked the High Psintegrat Jelette.

Reporting to a 12 year old was slightly galling despite the girl’s vast psychic ability and the fact that Sethis herself had become an Empyrial Templar only in her late twenties. Jelette knew this hence formality in stating titles.

The Trader heathens are fighting amongst themselves like two dogs after a scrap of meat, Sethis responded scornfully. We should use this opportunity to seize the system for the Unity while the TEC are divided.

Should we risk losing more ships after the disaster at Kyrene? Jelette thought back disdainfully.

Carefully Sethis manoeuvres around the circumstances of the High Psintegrat’s succession. The numbers of TEC ships in Ethea are nowhere near the size of the fleet that attacked Kyrene, and there are no Varsari allies to save them this time. Sethis cautiously adds, the people could use a victory after Kyrene.

Are you suggesting that the people find my leadership lacking? asked the High Psintegrat sharply.

Sethis manages to stop herself from cringing from the sharpness of the thought. Not at all, I most humbly beg your forgiveness for my careless remark High Psintegrat.

Very well, you may lead this attack as you planned, how many ships do you judge sufficient? asked Jelette contemptuously.

 With no choice but to lead the attack herself after the High Psintegrat’s order, Sethis quickly revises the size of her fleet to a smaller number less likely to invoke the High Psintegrat’s wrath. Only 600 ships including 20 capital ships, High Psintegrat.  

Do it, with that Jelette ends their telepathic communication. Sethis orders a section of Advent fleet at Germinthaea to move out.

**********

On the flagship of the Talonclaw Zaroday watches as the battle descends into chaos, his complex plans swept away, it was now a one-on-one battle between individual ships. Z’s reinforcements still hadn’t arrived and won’t for another half hour. With Keating’s superior numbers and Z’s 3 starbases the battle is fairly even. Keating has lost over 150 ships compared to TRE’s 60. As Z watches the Talonclaw blocks a missile barrage from a Marza with its adaptive forcefield and blasts half a dozen bombers out of space with a flak burst.

Suddenly one of Z ensigns shout out “the psidar is picking up a massive fleet headed this way!”

“Are they an enemy reinforcements?” asks Z.

“No sir, I’m picking up Advent signatures”

Oh shit, damning his luck Z asks “how long before they arrive?”

“3 minutes sir!”

I knew not replacing that wretched psidar would come back to haunt me, damn Lina for convincing me that efficient crystal sorting was more necessary. If we survive this I’m going to dock her pay and use the savings to pay for a new psidar. Wait, Z thinks, how the hell did the Advent know about this battle in the first place? Z remembers the news report of an Advent terrorist group called Unity’s Hand which bombed Ue headquarters. Could they be responsible? I must tell Felix to be on the lookout.

Z watches helplessly as Advent ships materialize out of phase space. 600 vessels including; 120 Disciples, 90 Illuminators, 80 Defence vessels, 100 Destra Crusaders, 50 Aeria Drone Hosts, 50 Domina subjugators, 50 Iconus guardians, 20 Solanus Adjudicators, 20 Purge vessels, 5 Revelation Battlecruisers, 5 Halcyons, 4 Radiance Battleships, 3 Rapture Battlecruisers and 3 Progenitor Motherships.

The confused TEC forces, already fighting each other, put up feeble resistance. One of the first to go is Keating’s flagship Sirion, hit by 4 cleansing brilliances from the Radiances the Sova disintegrates. Keating’s forces are in disarray with the death of their Admiral and trapped between two foes blocking all escape routes, they fight a hopeless battle to the death.

Desperately, Z issues an all TEC frequency message to all the remaining TEC ships, “All Tondam ships, your admiral is dead and we are being attacked by the Advent in the moment of our weakness, fight alongside your Trader brethren and set aside our quarrel so that we may fight back and win. I promise that any who join us will be treated with respect and dignity and those who wish to return to Trader Space may do so after we are victorious!”

Z is unsure he has succeeded. But suddenly, given a way out, the remnants of the Tondam fleet join their TRE counterparts in a desperate battle against the numerically superior Advent.